This Week at Liberty 12/29/2008

Christmas week came and went, the temperature dropped, the rain fell, and the rescues kept arriving...along with the usual activity that takes place 365 days a year at a facility like Liberty Wildlife. One phone caller last week was incredulous that anyone would be at the center on Christmas Day.  I told him that the animals don't know it's a holiday and they still need care and food, and he seemed to accept this.

Here then is a short update for New Year's week, 2008:

Art and Jan examine a neotropical cormorant.

Striking blue-green eyes on this rare visitor to Arizona.

Last week, a neotropical cormorant arrived at Liberty.  Not the usual denizen of the desert, he presented no overt trauma, but his mouth had quite a bit of blood in it, indicating possible internal injury.  Careful treatment and warm cage rest for observation is the best we can do until X-rays are available.

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One more RTH comes in.

OK, even some hawks DO bite!

A cloudy eye is an indication of age and possible ocular damage.

First, the eye is flushed.

Then a soothing ointment is applied.

A red tailed hawk came in a few days ago, exhibiting some possible eye damage. This beautiful bird looked to be an old-timer who had been around for several years. Still spirited, he/she showed little appreciation for the gentle handling provided by David as Kristine assessed and treated. A bird that has survived this long needs to be back in the gene pool if at all possible!

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Domenica feeds a HaHa as Betsy holds.

The head-trauma harris' hawk from last week is still with us.  Her eyes are clearing up but she has an appointment with our avian eye specialist in a few days. She could be the matriarch of a family in North Scottsdale so she needs to be treated and released to rejoin the clan in time for this year's breeding season.

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Chako approaches the perch in ground effect.

Rodents and small mammals (and most volunteers!) fear the "bidniss end" of this bird!

Lance makes his graceful departure.

A strong headwind, but Lance makes a soft landing!

When the rain stopped for a day, the flight team went to the park to keep up with practice. Chako and Lance are star performers and train almost daily to display their flying skills to the public.  Most people fly kites at the park; Liberty flies raptors!
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Once again, we've survived another year. In 2008 we've taken in 3700+ animals, almost half of which have been or are going to be released to freedom in the wild around Arizona or wherever their natural homes might be. We started this blog to make the dissemination of This Week at Liberty a little easier for you (and a little easier for me, too!) We added two new eagles to our permit and trained a bunch of new volunteers. Progress towards our new home at Papago Park is slow but inexorable. The processes of rescue, rehabilitation, and education are never ending. We had some very notable successes, and some heartbreaking moments as well. But through it all, we keep going, and we hope you keep going with us. Thanks to everyone who reads this each week, for your interest and support is what allows us to stay in the game.

So, with two days left in the calendar year, I offer you...

          This Year at Liberty - 2008

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You can go to YouTube and watch this in high resolution at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0qYfAkDvl0

(Select 'watch in high quality' below the right corner of the video window)