Hawks, falcons, eagles and numerous varieties of owls carry on with their day’s business as Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud walk about in the aviary checking on their winged patients. The brothers have turned their home in Delhi’s Wazirabad into a refuge for injured raptor birds, which they have been rescuing and treating for the past 11 years.
The rooftop of their house serves as an aviary-cum-hospital, sheltering birds like kites, eagles and different varieties of owls, Egyptian vultures, hawks and falcons. Their organisation Wildlife Rescue has become a default option that ordinary people, wildlife conservationists, police and even avian hospitals turn to when an injured bird is spotted. And understandably so, for the brothers can deftly perform surgeries and fix bones, having observed veterinarians over the years.
Nadeem, 36, says it all started when they rescued an injured kite in 2003 and got it treated by a veterinarian after the sole bird hospital, located on premises of a Jain temple in the city, refused to admit the carnivorous bird.
“As boys we often helplessly witnessed raptor birds dying in front of us. While injured pigeons and sparrows were eaten by dogs or rescued, birds of prey never found a predator or rescuer and were left to die of their injuries or starvation,” says Nadeem, who has also served as a wildlife warden for three years.
He attributes bird deaths in Delhi to rampant kite flying. Laced with glass or metal powder, the abrasive threads used to fly kites can rip the wings of birds in flight, making them bleed to death, says Nadeem.
The brothers, who also treat birds suffering from infections or those injured in accidents or while mating, often get bruised during rescue. “Eventually however, the birds understand that we are not there to harm them,” says Saud. Recently, they brought to safety a flock of 60 hatchlings of a Cattle Egret following the collapse of the nesting tree.
Female birds also suffer from ‘egg binding’, a condition which makes it difficult for them to pass eggs. “In such cases, we anesthetize the bird and slowly massage out the eggs from her uterus using lubricants,” says Nadeem.
Saud, 33, who conducts most of the surgeries, says he learnt fixing bones from a human orthopedic surgeon. To keep themselves updated, the brothers refer to books on the Internet as well as doctors based in the US in case of a complicated case.
With the centre receiving an average of 111 birds a month, Nadeem says in some cases the wounds are so bad that either the bird dies or is euthanized by a registered doctor.
It takes about a month for a bird to recuperate after surgery. While aged birds prefer to stay back in the aviary, cured birds fly off through a gap in the aviary, deliberately kept open for their voluntary exit.
“It is also an entrance for young birds who often return for food and rest till they are able to hunt by themselves,” say the brothers, who started a bird helpline in 2010.
Having turned vegetarians over time, thanks to their winged patients, the brothers say they avoid forming any emotional ties with the birds as they believe attachment instils trust among birds for humans which can be used against them.
Associated with organisations such as People for Animals, the brothers also made it to the Limca Book of Records (2014), and have received the Sparrow Award and recently a Special Award during the India for Animals Conference 2014.
The cost of bird food alone comes up to `30,000 a month and the brothers admit that funds have been the greatest challenge in their endeavor. They are, however, undeterred and plan to come up with an avian hospital in the future.
“Because even if an injured bird dies today it dies in the safety of home without people pelting stones at it or cursing it as a sign of bad omen,” says Nadeem. In case you come across an injured bird, call wildlife rescue at 09810129698.
