Melissa Pearce loves caring for birds.
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She has turned her Jerrabomberra home into a sanctuary for sick and injured birds with large backyard aviaries and enclosures of microbats.
Over the years, the Wildcare volunteer has cared for hundreds of birds and nurtured them back to health.
"I fall in love with everything that comes here and it's a joy to see them healed and living a healthy life. However, it can be challenging at times as well if the injured or a sick bird is unable to make it," Ms Pearce said.
She has several birds that are under her care at the moment, including a kookaburra and a microbat.
The Lesser Long-Eared microbat was rescued from a vacant property and brought under her care.
"The microbat's wing membrane has a tear and it would not have survived if the rescue would have taken place a day later. I have named her 'Lucky'," she added.
If someone sees a microbat that needs to be rescued, she says that the best thing to do is not touch them at all but call someone who is vaccinated.
She also has caring for a six-month old kookaburra who she calls 'Bones'.
"Bones was found deserted and extremely underweight when he was rescued. We were not expecting him to survive. Even now, he is half the size of what he should be," she said.
Bones has been rescued and released a few times since he was brought in to Ms Pearce's home earlier this year.
"He has had a few incidents but has luckily recovered every time. Recently, he was hit by a car and is recovering after the accident," she said.
If you need to contact Wildcare, or would like to become a volunteer, please contact the 24/7 hotline on 6299 1966.
