Page 260 - Hand rearing birds second

248 Hand-Rearing Birds

Enrichment
To encourage exploration, scatter items in the enclosures that birds would naturally encounter
around their burrows in the wild (e.g. rocks, leaves etc.). The chicks are mouthy; hence, to be on
the safe side, do not give things that would cause digestive damage if swallowed. Naupaka (Scaevola
taccada) leaves, scattered in their enclosures, have proved the most appealing as the older Wedge‐
tailed chicks gather them and use them to line their nest cups.
If handling and feeding have been done correctly and carefully, the chicks should all have perfect
plumage at fledging. SOS starts giving chicks time in pools when their wing‐chords are within a
few millimeters of adult length. This gives them the opportunity to exercise and stretch their wings
and become accustomed to water, which will shortly become a major part of their lives. We test
their waterproofing at this time, although, as mentioned, if they have been handled and fed cor-
rectly, they should be waterproof from the first time on the pool (Figure 14.8).

Release

Most shearwater and petrel species take their inaugural flight to sea at night. If the facility is fortu-
nate enough to be situated on or very near the ocean, then, ideally, an area could be fenced off with
a predator‐proof fence and artificial burrows installed. The chicks can then be raised in the bur-
rows and when they are ready to fledge, they may do it on their own time when they are ready.
Because there is a high likelihood that these chicks will return to that spot when they are ready to
breed, this might not be a good idea unless you are planning on starting a colony.
Barring that ideal situation, one is left with estimating when the bird is ready to fly. Down cover-
age is not a reliable indicator of readiness to fledge as some birds will fledge with a substantial
amount of down still attached, while others will have none at all. At SOS, when the chicks’ wing‐
chord is at adult length and they have demonstrated that they are waterproof on the pools, we take
the birds on field trips to the beach. They are placed on the sand while other birds are being released
to allow them to see and smell the ocean. Wedge‐tailed Shearwaters can become overwhelmed and
attempt to find a place to hide, so choose release locations wisely. Ideally, pick an area with open
space, sloping sand, and nowhere for the bird to hide and not be retrievable if the release is

Figure 14.8 A Wedge-tailed Shearwater fledgling having pool time in the lead-up to release.