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Carol Dickson has been helping plenty of vulnerable creatures — now she needs your assistance.

In the past few months Mrs Dickson’s Nagambie property has become a home for injured or abandoned birds. The lifelong bird lover answered the call from Tabilk wildlife carer Sandy Knight to help look after increasing numbers of birds, and she has any number of stories to tell on how they came to be under her care.

The birds have come from as far afield as Melbourne. After the best care, the birds face one of two fates. They can either go back into the wild, in which case they go to Tabilk then to a bird sanctuary in Yea before being released.

Others, like the lorikeets in this photo, can not be released. Often they are the victims of people who, possibly shy at paying $500 to buy one, and instead catch them in the wild and clip their wings in an effort to keep them at home. That doesn’t end well, until they arrive at places like Mrs Dickson’s.

Her backyard is now a hive of song, but it’s not all beer and skittles for the retired businesswoman and husband Dave.

‘‘We put money out of our own pockets to look after them, but if no-one looks after them they’ll die,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s a pleasure to do it but I do need aviaries because we’ve got nowhere to put them now.’’

There has been some help — a large aviary is being donated from an Avenel resident, and the Nagambie IGA donates plenty of unsold fruit — but a fundraising venture is also underway.

The Dicksons are holding a big garage sale outside their property on the corner of Vale and Nash Sts on March 2 and 3 from 8.30am to 1.30pm. You can come and have a look at the birds too.

The proceeds of any donations for the sale will go towards local wildlife shelters and will be gratefully accepted, as will any unwanted aviaries or bird cages. The Dicksons will organise to pick items up.

Contact Carol or Dave Dickson on 57942178 for more information.