Earning her Wings

Lake Chelan Mirror
With a blind Great Horned Owl tied to her wrist, Debra Burnett darts about the apple orchard like a hummingbird on espresso. Known as Lake Chelan’s bird lady, Debra rescues sick and injured creatures, then releases them into the wild when possible. Now, she wants to turn her south shore property into a community wildlife center.

Debra’s red ponytail swings behind her as she zips into a tiny, crooked cabin. She scribbles bird statistics on the side of an old fridge as a raven she insists looks like Sammy Davis Jr. splashes in a nearby kiddy swimming pool, against a backdrop of sky blue walls plastered with sheet music. The raven will live out his life on Burnett’s property, perching on an artificial Christmas tree propped in the corner. Other animals, however, will leave soon after recovery.

Burnett has bird and raptor rehabilitation permits from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, as well as a federal permit for rehabilitating migratory birds. She’s also a member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. Just a few months ago, she traveled to Denver to learn about training raptors, like the red-tailed hawk currently housed in her orchard shed.

The hawk, named Buteo, was in a feisty mood, more interested in dive bombing a reporter than eating his raw elk meat. A Wenatchee veterinarian gave the bird to Burnett after it had been shot, rehabilitated, released, and then injured a second time. Buteo’s injuries were severe enough it won’t be re-released, so Burnett is training the hawk to be used for educational purposes.

Another raptor, a full-grown great horned owl named Bubo lives in a second orchard cabin. He was hit by a car and blinded. Depending on the improvement of the bird’s eyesight, Bubo may stay at the wildlife center, as will a little Sawet owl with only one wing.

Someone shot the tiny owl with a BB gun. The injury festered until the bird lost its wing. It now lives in the crooked cabin, above the toilet in the bathroom, perched on an old tree Burnett dragged in from outside. All of the birds spend time outside in a safe netted enclosure under the trees.

While some birds stay at the center because of severe injuries, hundreds make quick visits. Burnett’s center is a bird hotel or nursery in the spring and summer months. Last season, she took care of at least 300 baby birds people brought to her.

And it’s not just birds. Burnett rehabilitates bats, chipmunks, squirrels, and “anything I can get my hands on,” she says.

The bird lady’s first feathered project was a baby robin she found on the ground when she was six years old. Without telling her mother, she made a bed for the hatchling in her old wagon and pulled it more than a mile to the local veterinarian’s office.

The doctor, however, was harsh and said she should have left the bird where she found it. He told her it would die, which it did. Burnett was heartbroken. She decided then and there she would learn to make birds better.

Burnett received her initial training from Penny Reed, who used to live in Manson. Reed had rehabilitation permits, and she took Burnett under her wing. “I took her injured birds left and right,” said Burnett.

When Reed moved from the area, she left Burnett all of her birds and equipment. “Don’t worry,” she assured the valley’s new bird lady. “You’ll get used to popping the heads off meal worms too.”

She was right. Burnett doesn’t think twice when her thumbs turn black each spring with mealworm guts. The grubs are the main diet of baby songbirds and quails. Before she knew it, Burnett was feeding baby birds on the dining room table and water training ducklings in her bathtub. Birds flew all over the house.

She laughs about her new reality. Burnett was a city girl before moving to Chelan, a cosmetologist with fancy hair, immaculate makeup, and shiny nails. Now she ties bundles of birdseed to a wig with reddish hair. She sets the wig on a mannikin head in the yard, so songbirds can get used to landing on it to feed. Then she attaches the wig to a hat. She plops it onto her own head, and wild birds flock to Burnett for supper.

But it’s not all dizzying songbirds in the sunshine. Burnett seems to thrive on the darker side of nature. Back in the cabin, she opens the freezer and pulls out a bag labeled Gourmet Rodents. She grabs a couple of white mice and slides them into the microwave to thaw. Unfortunately, she forgets about them. The mice explode. Burnett casually cleans up the residue with her bare hands.

This is a lot more exciting than sitting in front of a computer or playing video games, she said. “If kids want blood and guts, they can come here instead and chop the heads off dead rats.”

Burnett hopes to create a hands-on sanctuary where families and children can learn more about birds and animals. She’s looking for volunteers (there are jobs other than chopping off rat heads) and donations. For more information about how you can help, call XXX-XXX-XXXX.

A full version of this story was printed in The Lake Chelan Mirror.