uMhlanga resident joins forces with CROW to rescue birds

RESCUING injured birds is a time sensitive task that requires specialised training said uMhlanga resident, Sarah Keyser who has been caring for lost and injured birds for 12 years. Keyser has been trained by the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) to care for rescues.

“It’s very important that people get wildlife to me or to CROW immediately. We do not encourage the public to try to feed birds. A lot of times, a person has tried to feed the bird with a syringe and then they only bring the bird in when it stops responding. The bird will often have to be put down because it is dying from a lung infection due to aspiration,” she said.

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“The best thing is to put the bird in a box with a towel for traction under their feet. Do not use cotton wool as it gets caught around their digits (fingers) and it can also get caught around their tongues. Kitchen towel or toilet paper is better,” added Keyser.

A single encounter sparked her passion for birds that has spanned over a decade.

“I found a little sparrow on my stairwell years ago and it didn’t survive more than two days. So I started looking into how to care for birds and my passion started from there,” she said.

Keyser went on to set up Broken Wings, a bird rescue and adoption group that she co-founded with Claire Matthis. She is also a long standing volunteer for the CROW and has been running the only CROW depot in uMhlanga for five years.

“On occasion, I do get duikers and mongoose in. Any animal that is naturally found in the area will be accepted by CROW,” she said

Since CROW only collects indigenous species from Keyser’s depot, she cares for the pigeons and mynah rescues from the area and hundreds of birds come in during the busy seasons.

“We are just starting to go into breeding season. I don’t work, I dedicate all of my time to this. I find Mondays and Sundays are the busiest. Sometimes, I receive up to 30 birds a day. People should also know that if a bird has been bitten by a cat the bird must immediately be put onto antibiotics. Cats carry a bacteria that can kill birds,” she said.

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Working on a voluntary basis, her home is often filled with feathered friends and she has a particular penchant for pigeons, hoping to change perceptions about the birds that have often been deemed as ‘pests.’

“I think pigeons are absolutely beautiful. They are very intelligent animals, they are not ‘rats of the sky’ as some people think. They make amazing pets and I have a number of tamed pigeons available for adoption,” said the bird lover.

For more information, call Keyser on 072 801 0606.

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