Helping hand corvid rescue

Hi, my name is Joe the founder of helping hand Corvid rescue, from a very young age I was drawn to corvids I would often spend hours sitting alone watching the crows and rooks in a local field prodding at the soil or in the trees calling to one another where I grew up in anglesey with my mother and two sisters.

I ofter felt very isolated and struggled to make friends partly due to my fascination and love for animals i would purposely isolate myself from people to spend more time with animals as other children my age would rather play football or games and I would have rather look for frogs and newts.

Having a troubled childhood at home it was a blessing that I was always able to escape to feed my fascination and love for animals in the beautiful countryside of North wales.

One day I stumbled across a jackdaw fledgling being attacked by a cat I was quick to take action and rescue the poor bird, I'd never touched one or seen one up so close I was in love from that moment as I held its frail little body in my hands.

I spent weeks caring for this little bird in secret and I would keep him hidden away in an old cattle shed in the field I spent so much time in watching the wildlife.

every morning I would wake up, eat my breakfast and put some in my pocket without my mother knowing, I'd immediately run to the cattle shed and feed jack the jackdaw with what I had concealed out of my breakfast that morning.

as the days turned to weeks jack would call for me from the shed and began to fly to me for his food so I decided that now was the time to let him out, jack flew from my arm across the field and out of sight, I started to feel as if I had done something wrong being only 6 at the time I started to cry feeling like I had waisted so much time and that jack may be to young to survive alone in the wild. that day I sent hours looking for him till dark with no luck, I had very little sleep that night thinking about little jack all by himself or perhaps a cat had caught him again "was it my fault?" My brain would rest.

As the days went by there was no sign of my little friend and I began to accept that he had gone for good.

I returned to the field some days later and sat on the grass to watch the birds in the autumn sun amongst the dry and receding meadow grass, I heard a "peep" "peep" sound I turned to look and three jackdaws had found a grub as two pulled at it the third sat and watched I called out "jack" the third jackdaw looked up I stood up in amazement "jack" I yelled he flew to me and landed on my head pulling my hair as he stumbled to gain his footing "it's you I yelled" "your alive" the two jackdaws eating the grub had noticed jack perched on my head they looked puzzled and began shrieking as if to say "get away" "get away" to little jack.

I spend years visiting little jack in that field until I moved house at the age of 9 leaving him with his family.

I've often wondered what is my purpose, surely I have one? Yet I never really found the answer, I was never very good in school and ofter would fail most subjects, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and had been untreated till I was in my teens as well as leaving education with poor grades I could never achieve my dreams of working with animals successfully.

as a child I inspired to be like Steve irwin or David Attenborough but those dreams slowly faded away with my age and the shear acceptance of life hit me like a tone of bricks.

Though my life I have continued to rescue and rehabilitate animals of all kinds from cats to frogs to hedgehogs and beyond but nothing can touch my heart like corvids do, I have a deep love for them and admiration for their great intelligence.

These little creatures have helped me though some tough times as my mental health deteriorated as a result of my upbringing there was only my children and my birds that kept me motivated though the darkest of times and for that I am grateful, I owe them nothing but my life and my every being. I now know my purpose here on mother earth as life finds its way to show you one way or another.

Protecting and providing help for these Fantastic underestimate birds it's literally my life as well as other animals, there is so much in this world that we have done against these helpless creatures it's time we all work together to repent the damage we have done and for me it's ensuring that every rook, crow, Jay, jackdaw or magpie that comes to me is rehabilitated for release or housed if disabled with the best possible food and love needed to enable them to enjoy every day as if they had the freedom of being wild.

I'm fundraising as I have always been self funded from a full time job now I have taken on more birds I am finding myself funding my care to them by selling my belongings as I'm not materialistic I don't mind but I'm running low having rent to pay and 4 children's as well as a rescue dog, cat and rabbits to feed I'm struggling.

There is nothing I'd love more to do than to continue doing what I'm doing but unfortunately we live in a world where money makes is go round. I have turned down donations over the years when it would have really helped me and my birds so asking this is truly very hard to do.

I'm hoping to fund the vets bills for my birds and for cleaning products, medical equipment for emergencies, bedding, food, enrichment, flight cage extention and maintenance etc. I'm blessed to have an outhouse I'd like to convert in to a holding unit with equipment I can use to tent to my birds.

There aren't any other rescue centres in North wales so this means if a corvid is taken in they are more than likely put to sleep by the RSPCA or local vets, I know this first hand and it pains me to say this. They are very good at what they do but they also lack facilities that specialise in birds and especially corvids.

Please can you help me to help them? together we can make a huge difference

Thank you so much from Joe and all the birds at Helping hand Corvid rescue ❤️