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Chronicle Herald, Monday, Sept. 17, 2007 [³ You donıt get to choose how you are going to die or when. You can only decide how youıre going to live. ² Joan Baez] ---------------- PHOTO: Veterinarian Helene Van Doninck of Hilden, Colchester County, treats an injured three-week-old robin at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in this file photo. Business is booming since a renowned raptor centre in the Head of St. Margarets Bay closed its doors in June. (CATHY VON KINTZEL / Truro Bureau) PHOTO IN VALLEY EDITION: Workers at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre clean fish oil off a bald eagle. [contributed] More bird work lands on Hilden rehab staff Closures elsewhere bring eagles, owls, other avian types to centre By CATHY VON KINTZEL Truro Bureau | 5:38 AM HILDEN The bird business is booming at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, especially since a renowned raptor centre closed its doors in Head of St. Margarets Bay in June. High-pitched bird chirps emanate from Helene Van Doninckıs basement as she sits at her kitchen table watching a young bald eagle stretch its wings on closed-circuit television. The veterinarian and licensed rehabilitator of birds and small mammals fills her home with sick and injured wildlife brought to her by the public and Department of Natural Resources officers. "We have him on camera to make sure heıs okay, but still try not to disturb or stress him out," Ms. Van Doninck said of the eagle in her care. It was covered in a fish oil when it arrived a week ago. "It was awful," she said, holding a sticky, smelly feather that she saved in a bowl. Then she produced two fluffy, delicate and cleansed feathers. "This is how theyıre supposed to look, and how they look now." Ms. Van Doninck and husband Murdo Messer founded the centre near Truro in 2001. But theyıve gotten busier with birds of prey since the Atlantic Raptor Rehabilitation Centre closed, as have other centres such as the Hope for Wildlife Society in Seaforth. [***** SIC -- This horrible last sentence gives the impression that Hope for Wildlife in Seaforth has closed, which is not true (see the later parts of article) -- just very poor writing, and poor editing as well by the Herald staff [JW].] The retiring operators of the raptor centre sent their final patient here, a barred owl that was found starving and needed a few more weeks to grow in its tail feathers. "We let that happen here and successfully released the bird from our property," the veterinarian said. Her immediate priority is to build a long and high flight cage so sheıll be able to rehabilitate birds from injury to release, instead of having to send them elsewhere to recondition their flight wings. "Itıs less stressful for the birds if they donıt have to travel too much, and here they get veterinary care from the day they come through the door," Ms. Van Doninck said. The minimum standard for a flight cage, which costs tens of thousands of dollars, is 30 metres long, six metres wide and 4.8 metres high. The rehabilitation centre doesnıt have any immediate plans for a fundraiser, but is open to ideas and always looking for volunteers. Ms. Van Doninck estimates more than 90 per cent of wildlife injuries are caused by manmade hazards, including cars and windows. Thatıs partially why she feels an obligation to use her skills to help, the other part being her obvious affection for all creatures. The brown eagle living in a special shed in her backyard, and watched closely via a wireless camera, was one of two that got into fish oil near a plant on the South Shore. The first eagle is already clean and in a flight cage in Seaforth. Eight volunteers with strong but gentle hands gave the second eagle a one-hour thorough cleansing Saturday. Heıll hang around for another week or so before heading to Seaforth. Then there are still the hawk, falcon, owl, dove, pigeon and gull to care for. "And this is a slow time because there arenıt any babies around," Ms. Van Doninck said. She can be reached at hvandoninck@cwrc.net. ( cvonkintzel@herald.ca)
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