A call came for a little brown bird caught by a cat. Powell River Orphaned WildLife Society (PROWLS) rescuer and president Merrilee Prior went straight away.
It turned out to be a tiny Pacific wren, a round ball of feathers the size of a hummingbird. The wren was very traumatized, staying huddled up with its head down and not looking at anything.
Back at PROWLS, it was given antibiotics and medication for pain, and left alone to recover. Like many small birds, it needed to eat a lot, just to stay alive, so a couple of hours later, when it started to eat the insects it was offered, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
From that point on, it quickly regained its characteristic bold manner, scolding loudly when more food was put in or when it was caught at medication time. When the wren had recovered completely and was bouncing around in the foliage in its cage, on a sunny day with no snow on the ground, it was taken back out to rejoin its flock.
Pacific wrens do not migrate and generally stay in the same territory year round. Although plentiful here, they are rarely seen, as they stay in dense forest underbrush where they are perfectly camouflaged as they glean insects.
Anyone who finds a bird that has been caught by a cat, call PROWLS right away at 604.483.9787, as time is of the essence. Even if it appears uninjured, the smallest break in the bird’s skin will become infected, and it will die.
