Caring for the birds...			...in Telkwa

Then there's Sammy the crow. If one of the pheasants is being regularly attacked by another pheasant, Sammy steps in as the aviary's version of a schoolyard hero. Sammy attacks the bully and pulls it's tail feathers until the fighting ends. Al and Brenda have tried to give the birds the sense of living within a natural habitat.

One of the crows

The majority of the birds live in a large fenced compound built around several trees. Some roost in the trees while others burrow into the straw that covers much of the ground. The ceiling is made of chicken wire with branches and bark scattered over top. In this manner, the birds live outdoors rather than simply looking out from inside a pen. A few birds are too injured to ever join the rest of the aviary.

Al and the Evening Grosbeak

Charlie, a crow, was found at a park with severely twisted legs about 12 years ago, before Al and Brenda started their sanctuary. He can't be kept with the other birds and has his own cage where he is treated to hamburger and dog biscuits soaked in water. An evening grosbeak, a recent newcomer, has a severely injured wing and a type of white growth on his legs. A squirrel has taken to running down his cage and the grosbeak is forever peering upward to look for it.