Robert started out in the finches’ aviary while Deb and I held the flashlights and got the carriers ready.  He entered slowly, armed with his net and gloves.  After about 15 minutes of watching him thrashing around like a wildman, he had not caught a single finch. He leaned up against a tree branch and exclaimed that he was getting dizzy. I think there is something about being deprived of sleep that tends to make everything appear to be funny, so Deb and I had to laugh at his discomfort.

Once Robert finally got his bearings back, I decided that perhaps I had better go in and help him.  Not only are finches tiny, but they are also quick flyers and very difficult to see in the dark.  It didn’t take me long to realize that I was now looking as ridiculous as I had thought Robert did earlier.  It took us a while to get the hang of it, but we were finally able to get all of the finches secured away in our carrier.  Of course, by this time we were exhausted and still feeling pretty dizzy from our finch fracas, but there was no time to rest as we still had the cockatiels to attend to.

Deb decided she wanted to try and catch some of the birds, so this time I held the flashlight and carrier and she went in with Robert to showcase her wonderful bird catching skills.  The best thing about Deb was how good she made me and Robert look.    All of the cockatiels were in this aviary, but there were also some finches in there.  Deb gave it her all but never caught a single finch.  Robert had gotten so good that he was catching them in his gloved hand now without a net.

Deb was finally able to catch a few cockatiels, but most of hers escaped her net.  It seemed like practically every time she would net a bird she would also net a nail in the wall and get her net stuck.  By the time she could get uncaught from the nail her prey would manage to escape through a hole in her net that she was originally unaware of.  She now not only knew of the hole but she also severely despised that hole.  She did manage to save us 10 or 15 minutes by catching two or three cockatiels, and about three hours later, with runny noses and frozen toes we had managed to catch all of the remaining survivors, 28 finches and 20 cockatiels.

We put them all in the back of the van and got them all fresh food and water.  The van was nice and warm as we had started it up earlier.  We checked to make sure all of the carriers were safe and secure before heading out.  Lucky for us, Scott had stuck around the entire time just so he could lead us back out of this maze from hell.  Once we got back to the highway junction we said our good byes.  Scott thanked us repeatedly for rescuing the birds and we thanked him for his hospitality, his patience, and most of all for his directions in and out from the aviaries.

Knowing that time was not on our side, we decided to forego sleep and drove straight back to the rescue. It’s amazing what a little rush of adrenaline can do for your body. The ride home was long and tiring.  We had to stop again for gas and checked on the birds.  We had lost one of the finches already and several more were looking pretty bad.  We knew we would probably be losing more and hated to think about it.  We had already been through so much to try and save them and to lose them one by one was heartbreaking.  All we could do was continue driving and hope for the best.

Once back at the rescue we had a few more volunteers come in that helped us get the birds out of their carriers and into new cages.  Of course, we had to put the cages together for them first. We also had to treat them all individually for mites and other insects and worms, since they had been kept outside. We ended up losing two cockatiels and eight finches before it was all over with. We hated to lose any of them, but at least we were able to save the majority of them. Once they were all in their new cages, treated for bugs, and given fresh food and water, we were finally able to step back and take a breather.  After about 32½ hours, Robert, Deb, and I were finally able to go home and get some much needed sleep.

The next 24 hours would be critical.  We kept a close watch on all of the birds and made sure they had plenty of fresh food and water.  They were going through the food like crazy, but we knew they needed it to get their strength back.  Slowly but surely they were beginning to get more active and vocal and were looking much stronger and healthier.

Of course our job wasn’t over yet.  We still had to take proper care of them and maintain their health as we began looking for new homes for them.  They had all struggled with the harshness of nature and won.  So as a reward, they all needed to be placed in good, forever-loving homes.  We have been fortunate enough to have already found good homes for some of them and have them placed there.

It was kind of tough saying goodbye, knowing what we had been through together, but we knew it was in their best interest and were happy knowing they were in good homes now.  The majority of them are still with us, though, as we continue searching for their perfect homes.  We won’t stop until we find good homes for each and every one of them.  Of course we continue taking in rescued birds every day, so our plight will never truly be over with.  Only chapters in our book will come to an end, but the book will go on forever.

The Healthipet Network was founded to assist avian and exotic animal shelters and rescues in placing displaced companions in forever loving homes outside of their area or home state.  We utilize volunteers to perform home inspections prior to placement. We operate as a federally approved 501(c)3 NON-PROFIT organization and funding comes from donations, grants, adoption fees, and membership dues.  We also operate a rescue at our home office as a federally approved 501(c)3 NON-PROFIT NO KILL shelter.

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