When Wilf Gujer was called to help a kookaburra with 17 shotgun pellets embedded in its body, he was dismayed but not shocked.
His two-person volunteer rescue operation in far north Queensland takes in about 400 injured animals each year, including many native birds that have been deliberately fired upon.
"We've seen it all over the place that people have taken pot shots at cockatoos, kookaburras, anything," Mr Gujer said.
"It's very sad."
The shooting of the kookaburra at Gordonvale, south of Cairns, earlier this month angered Mr Gujer, who said there was a surprising lack of awareness about how often native birds were targetted.
Emma Lagoon from RSPCA Queensland said the illegal shooting of native wildlife, including with arrows, was common year-round.
"It is a worrying trend. It's happened over the past three or four years," she said.
"We've seen curlews, plovers, ibises, goannas [shot]; it's absolutely outrageous to see this does happen."
The injured kookaburra has undergone treatment for a fractured leg and some lead pellets were removed.
It would require about six months' care and was unlikely to survive any lead poisoning if the remaining shotgun pellets leached into its bloodstream.
It remained in a portacot and was being hand-fed.
Hundreds of animals needing care
Mr Gujer said the volume of animals requiring emergency care was such that he did not name the ones he tried to help.
Last week, he took on the care of a bird found injured near Burketown, almost 900km away in Queensland's Gulf country.
"Once you give them a name, it becomes really personal," Mr Gujer said.
"It doesn't lessen the care that we provide … it grates us enough when we have to euthanise animals anyway."
The Department of Environment and Science (DES) said anyone with observations or suspicions of a wildlife offence should report it immediately.
However, the DES said it had not recently received any reports of unlawful shootings of native birds in far north Queensland.
Reports can also be made to the RSPCA, which has the power to investigate wildlife cruelty.
"Spring and summer [can be] an awful time for animals because they're more active, they're out and about and we just want people to essentially leave them alone," Ms Lagoon said.
"When there is evidence [of cruelty], there are certainly investigations that are followed up."
