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The Bird Doctors
| Article
# : |
13282 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1987 |
1,353 Words |
| Author
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Tom Nugent
Tom Nugent teaches journalism at the University of Maryland
in
Baltimore. His works include Death at Buffalo Creek,
published
by W.W. Norton. |
The suburban living room in northern Virginia looks like any other - bright, well furnished, and dominated by cheerful paintings and a jumbo-sized color television against the far wall.
That's at first glance.
Step inside for a closer look. "Caw! Caw!" Inky, a crow, blasts a full-scale alert from her headquarters opposite the dinning room table. Sitting at the table, a Washington suburbanite, Carl Roper, is saving a life. In his left hand, he holds a plastic syringe full of liquid bird food. With his right, he strokes the frazzled head of a half-starved house sparrow.
"C'mon," croons Roper, as he gently inserts the syringe tip into the sparrow's narrow beak. "C'mon, you little fool!"
Inky glares from her nearby cage and provides a steady stream of unsolicited medical advice. Like a harried nurse, Mrs. Puff, a fantail pigeon, stalks up and down the length of her silver cage.
"Okay," soothes Roper as the panicked bird attempts to flap from his grasp. "Okay, hold it, little guy!" He pushes the plunger on the syringe. The liquid food streams into the sparrow's gullet. He gently returns the malnourished victim to his hospital bed. "You're a real sweetie, aren't you?"
For the Ropers, the battle to save this sparrow has just begun. During the next few days, the weakened bird will require regular feedings of a high caloric nutrient.
"They're God's creatures, that's all," explains Carl, when asked why he spends so many hours working on injured pigeons, sparrows, robins, starlings, and doves.
"I've never really thought much about why I like to take care of birds. I guess it's just that I don't like to see any creature suffer, if I can help it."
His wife Lynda says that caring for about three hundred sick or injured birds each year has helped her family learn more about wildlife. "We just like wildlife, and especially birds - they're very educational for the kids. Our seven-year-old daughter, Virginia, can spot a yellow-bellied sapsucker a mile away!"
Working as trained
...
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