The bird whisperers
There is a stench of fish and a cacophony of bird noise. “You have to be very passionate to look after seabirds,” say twins Paula and Bridgette Powers, as they provide a guided tour of their sanctuary, identical smiles on their identical faces. “It’s not a glamorous job.”
It’s not for the faint-hearted either. The pair care for birds others would euthanise – beaks and legs broken, throats torn, feet missing and wing tendons severed. Experts marvel at their ability to rehabilitate the most sickly, injured and youngest animals. TV vet Chris Brown has become both a friend and fan.
Paula and Bridgette can look at a bird for just 30 seconds and work out what’s medically wrong with it, he says. “You could go to university for years and not know how to do that.”
Not surprisingly, he’s also among those unable to resist the Twinnies’ combined charm when it comes to lending a hand. They always speak in unison, so when they make a plea, it’s like secret stereo power. “How do you say no to the two of them?” Chris muses. “One maybe, but two? Not a chance.”
A prime example involved Beaky the pied cormorant.
“We found
