Monday, May 25, 2009

This Week at Liberty 05/25/2009

OK, it's a holiday so I'll be more concise than usual (am I too long-winded?)  This week's update will be mostly about orphans and fosters, with a few unlucky adults mixed in. Or, maybe they are the lucky ones after all. And I've included a short video in honor of the eagle nest watchers...
The white pelican is on his way!
As you read this, the white pelican that arrived several weeks ago is on his way to his new home in Alabama. After a wing-shortening surgery that took him out of the flying game (kinda-like me!), we called Sea World in San Diego, who put us in touch with Sea World in San Antonio, who sent us to the San Antonio Zoo, who finally told us to call a lady at the Birmingham, Alabama Zoo.  They were happy to have him and the plans were drawn.  His trip should have him there Tuesday evening after a flight on US Airways to Atlanta, followed by a drive with US Air Capt. Chris Nicholson and his family to Birmingham.  Have a great life, big buddy!
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5 foster RTH's are now with Nakona.
The two smallest are from eggs hatched at Liberty.
The smallest foster clutch now on then property belongs to Nakona, our resident RTH foster mom. There are more to come, but she's doing well now with 5 little future killers in her enclosure.
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In second place: Titus and Abba!
In the northeast corner, our two super barn owl foster parents are doing fine with their current group of adoptees. We're hopeful all the baby barnies have been accounted for, as the room was getting a bit crowded, but nobody seemed to complain.
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A close encounter with a cholla!
This won't hurt a bit...I hope!
An unlucky raven was brought in by Carl price last week.  This poor guy was doing something inappropriate in close proximity to a cholla cactus. Ravens are supposed to be one of the smartest animals on the planet, so you'd think they'd know enough to keep away from these spiny horror stories, but for some reason, this guy must have been rolling in them! He was mostly OK after Rebecca spent 20 minutes pulling hundreds of spines out of his body!
Gilda is in the lead.
One of three...
Little wings are checked.
An ID band is applied to a little leg.
One out of three had a broken leg.
OK, usually the birds that show up at the window are in the non-raptorial branch of the avian tree, while R&T people bring in the hawks, owls, and falcons.  However last week, a lady showed up at the intake window with a small green box.  I told here I'd take it in for her since it didn't quite fit through the opening. I thoroughly expected to find a nest of grackles or mockingbirds inside, but when I opened the lid, I was surprised to find three little nestling kestrels! Someone in her neighborhood had been trimming some palm trees and the nest was destroyed. Each one got a colored ID band, one of which matched the red wrap on her broken leg. I think we took in 6 in one day last week, giving Gilda, our foster mom, the lead with a total of 22 kids to raise.
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Let's see...11 fosters for Hamlet and Ophelia...
...and 17 for Hogan!
So now we have 28 foster GHOs out with parents, not counting a couple that are still in the ICU recovering from various injuries and conditions. One of which is the little guy from Prescott who came down last week with the badly injured leg after hanging from the power line tower.
He is still recovering from his surgery last week but things are still hopeful. Some wet wrap was reapplied and the wound continues to heal.
The circulation to his nearly severed foot is checked daily and seems to be working despite the amount of damage he received.
After the leg re-wrapping with wet wrap and a covering of purple dry vet wrap, the mouse tail sticking out of his beak shows he just got a quick meal to keep him strong during his recovery. (Kinda like giving a little kid a lollipop after going to the doctor...?) There are at least two newspapers watching this guy to see how he does, so we'll keep you all posted!
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We've been covering the story of the "single parent" eagle nest near Goldfield Ranch these past 15 weeks. Other nests with two parents haven't been as successful, for various reasons, but little Mo fledged and the mission of his nest watchers is now over.  This last weekend several of us Liberty volunteers went out to help control the alcohol-induced exuberance of youth tubing down the Salt River during the Memorial Day weekend. I got the latest shots of Mo practicing his skills that we hope will keep him away from any further contact with people and/or Liberty Wildlife in the future.
I hope you enjoy my humble efforts...!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, you got it! Big Mo is doing so well at flying now! We got to watch him and his Mom from 11am till 5pm on monday, and it was an so cool to see it all work out so well. Thanks for doing the Video! Jan & Joe Miller

Anonymous said...

Wonderful update! Can't believe the numbers for fosters.
The video of 'Mo' was great as well. Thanks for doing this Terry.
I sure miss Liberty. Keep up the great work!
Laura Irving

zopeloti said...

FABULOUS! Love the musci. perfect.

Anonymous said...

Trying this again Terry..thanks for all you do on this site. I appreciate it a great deal as do countless others. Take care..Art

Anonymous said...

This blog always makes me feel so happy and hopeful! Birds are better than drugs!

zopeloti said...

Great video. Music is perdect.

Kelly said...

Great Work Terry...brought tears to my eyes! A special THANKS to you, Claudia, Jen and Leah (NestWatchers), Tuk (AGFD), and ALL of the volunteers for your interest and assistant in caring for Mo! And, of course, a BIG shout out to the 'Mother of the Year', Ellie!! Hope to see ya next year!
Kelly Kessler (Forest Service)

Kelly said...

Great Work Terry...brought tears to my eyes!! A special thanks to you, Claudia, Jen and Leah (NestWatchers), Tuk (AGFD), and ALL of the volunteers who helped make this a success! And, of course, a BIG shout out to the, 'Mother of the Year' Ellie!

Kelly Kessler (Forest Service)

Anonymous said...

The video of "Mo" is great. Great song "Learning to Fly" and video to show how "Mo" has come into his own. Wow he can fly now! You guys are amazing in the dedication of your work. It was great to actually see "Mo" a couple of weeks ago by his nest. Thanks for sharing this.
Cindy Kerr

Leah said...

Terry, your talent and dedication has helped Mo AND the Mo story to travel far and wide.
Last week I shared your video with a friend's 4th grade class at our local Catholic school (Gillette, Wyoming) The young people gave me great questions and their 'rapt' attention!
Happy to have made your acquaintance and to have shared this miracle with you and all the beautiful people of Liberty Wildlife.
Peace, Leah, AZBENWP Nestwatcher