One warm summer’s day I decided
to have a seat on the grass in one of the outdoor pens, with my back against
the low wall. The sun was shining warmly down, and I was waiting for the hose
to fill the small depression. The sharp winged teal in the pen took the
opportunity to use me as a shade and a resting place. Four of them climbed in
behind my back, against the wall. While one brave little soul decided I looked
like a comfortable seat and climbed onto my legs, looked me in the eye, rested
its head on its back and went to sleep. Just my luck; as I was sitting there
improving duck to human relations the boss walked around with an entourage in
tow. I didn’t even try to explain – I think the visitors were too engrossed by
my small charges to conclude that I was being lazy.
I did have the occasional
misadventure however; like the time I nearly blew up the Hawaiian Geese. There
were only about 500 of them in the wild at the time. While washing out their
living quarters I accidentally splashed a heat lamp that exploded, showering
them with glass. A very swift grab for the birds and their transference to
another pen fortunately avoided any injury, but that did take me some time to
live down
Things progressed naturally from
there – I started joining in with the feeding of the birds and some of the
on-site maintenance. One day it just occurred to me that this could be the job
for me. I’ve always loved wildlife and the countryside – what could be more
natural? Of course I got the usual lectures about jobs like this: there’s too
much competition and it’s impossible to get into. Well, paying no heed to the
naysayers, I enrolled myself on a National Diploma course in Countryside
Management at Northumberland College.
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