Eagle's Nest Wildlife Hospital

Now that I've told you about where I'm living in the Tablelands, here's a bit about what I do while I'm there.


     Eagle's Nest  is a non-profit organization aimed at rehabilitating and releasing ALL native wildlife. In the recent years it's hit some hard times as a result of the economic crisis and Harry Kunts' (the director) ailing hip that desperately requires surgery. My goal is to get things in ship shape order and keep the place running while Harry goes through surgery. This was supposed to happen in February but since the cyclone the surgery has been pushed back with no new date in sight.

 

In the meantime, here are some of the animals that I get the joy of caring for!

                                                       

 

One of the pea-hens sunning herself with a few wallabies running around in the background.

 There are three types of macro-pods here: pretty face wallabies, a eastern grey kangaroo and a Mareeba rock wallaby. All having a typical relaxed day in the gardens.

 This is a little pretty face joey, he's been a bit humanized so now he wants cuddles instead of running away... to be honest, it's hard to resist!

                      This is a little kestrel, she is non releasable due to a wing injury.

 This is a mutant creature I call the "turken", as you can see it appears to be a cross between a chicken and a turkey... weird.

This is Oscar, the razorback hog. He was originally food but then Harry developed a bond with him and claims he's got more personality than any dog. (I'm not so sure)

Another pretty face wallaby grabbing a snack!

                                    Hanging around the back of the property, more wallabies!

 55 roosters were donated as food for the wedge tailed eagles, this one is a silky and he's my favourite; we're saving him...

 The pride of the sanctuary are two albino blue-winged kookaburras. As you can understand, they wouldn't survive in the wild so they are now permanent residents. They arrived here in '05 and are doing great!

This blue-wing kookaburra may be the oldest in captivity at 25 years. He can't be released due to a broken wing. 

 This is a currawong begging for food. One of the challenges in wildlife caring is separating yourself from the animals so they rely on nature for food, not you.

 This brightly coloured bird is a swamp hen. She also can't be released due to a broken wing.

 This was a female pacific koel (pronounced "coil") that flew in from Papua New Guinea. As you can see, she didn't survive the journey so as the cycle of life continues, she became quoll food.

This is a sooty owl, very shy but had to catch a glimpse of me as I renovated her enclosure. 

 This is a barking owl named "Harry Potter" he is also humanized and will sit on your hand without a glove! The barking owl may be behind the Aboriginal mythical creature the Bunyip. It is said to be an evil water spirit that screams like a woman being murdered and will eat you up!

 

The day starts at 7am and finishes just after 4. Harry has all of the diets listed and is sure to emphasize the importance of giving "wader" to all of the animals.

 I'll end this with a little piece of Harry's wisdom. We could all use this as a guide! ;)