Driving along Hartley Road the glinting feathers of a male satin bower bird on the side of the road caught the eyes of Nathalie Gaveau.
She stopped and picked it up and a Wildcare volunteer took it down to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
Arthur, as the little bird was called, had x-rays, a full check-up and spent two days in ICU.
No fractures were found, but he had bruising under his left wing and grazing to the back of his feet all indicative of being hit by a car.
The hospital sent him back to licenced Wildcare carer, Tara Hunter, where he spent a week recuperating in her bird facility in Canungra, practicing his flying to regain his strength before release.
“They are territorial and live in pairs, so it was important he went back to where he came from,” Tara explained.
“He went off like a rocket, back to his bower I presume.”
“It’s always lovely when you can release them back to where he came from.”
Tara said because they like to fly quite low, sticking to speed limits will help to avoid cars hitting them.
“They hang around on the ground and land clearing can affect their habitat, which is happening a lot and more and more are getting hit by cars. But cats are the number one issue,” Tara said.
She urged people to check for bowers or nests before chopping any vegetation.
The male does all the hard work to attract the females, creating a bower or display and will travel up to a kilometre away to collect blue items to make their unique bower flashy for the female.
Wildcare needs more volunteers and offer training for people wanting to help rescue animals regularly.
Details can be found on their website www.wildcare.com.au
