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The woman who hand-cradles orphaned baby birds, day and night

15 March 2019

It’s tough for the parents of newborn babies.

Lorraine Gow, Head of Birds at the SSPCA

The interrupted sleep is exhausting — but, at the end of the day, at least you’re nurturing your own family.

The same, however, cannot be said of Lorraine Gow. Not only are the object of her dutiful attention not her own offspring, they aren’t even human babies!

Instead, her care is directed at the hundreds of baby birds at the Scottish SPCA centre in Clackmannanshire. And rehabilitation expert Lorraine has developed an extraordinarily dedicated method for giving them a second chance at life.

Doing something incredible to save the lives of orphaned baby birds

Lorraine from the Scottish SPCA goes to extreme lengths to care for baby chicks.

Lorraine uses her hand to form a loose cage around the tiny chick ...and there he stays, all day and through the night.

Lorraine with a slightly larger bird

Even while she sleeps, she continues to hold the little bird in her hand.

“I must have perfected it over the years: to sort-of semi-sleep and not move. I’m really quite a still sleeper; I really don’t move my hand at all. If he moves, I wake up.”

“When I take him home, he’s in my hand all the time. I check on him every five seconds.

“This is a 24-hour job, seven days a week. You can't switch off.

“I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t love it.”