“Are you the bird lady?” Many years after she was forced, due to failing eyesight, to give up caring for injured or orphaned birds, Maureen would get phone calls such as that and was able to direct the caller to the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.
I met Maureen in the early ’80s when a mutual friend suggested I might like to join a small group of volunteers dedicated to rescuing wild creatures. Especially during the spring months, these devoted animal lovers had cages and baskets and boxes in their homes, filled with babies that had fallen out of nests or were orphaned or injured and which they nurtured until they could be released back into the wild. Maureen, who ran her own business from home, often had more than 50 birds and small mammals to clean, feed, and medicate.
As word got around and ever more people heard about the group and brought them birds and mammals they found, it became evident that a more structured system was needed. In 1988 Maureen and 10 volunteers, including me, incorporated as a nonprofit organization; in 1999 we rented a small storefront at State Street and Ontare Road, staffed by volunteers, where people could drop off creatures in need of care.
