The intake total for 2010 is now at 2988.
The week began with a tragedy, reminding us, after all, how fragile this gift of life is.
We took in some animals that don't fit the "usual suspects" category, and some work continues on some of our recent (and not-so-recent) arrivals. The sun comes up, even after the darkest night...
Among the intakes this week were a very handsome dark GHO, a first year turkey vulture, and a pretty cooper's hawk. In addition there were a couple of not-so-ordinary birds brought to us for help including a gorgeous prairie falcon and a northern goshawk. Goshawks rarely venture this far south into the desert, and this one was brought down to the AZG&F facility from up north and then delivered to us for medical treatment for a wing injury (if you look carefully at the third photo, you can see it has both federal and state bands.)
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A seriously injured harris' hawk came in last week. The presentation suggested he suffered a devastating collision with something - a window or possibly an auto - which caused him to lose most of his upper beak as well as some damage to his right wing. The bird was made comfortable and was waiting to get X-rayed but sadly died before we could get him to the radiologist.
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The very light barn owl that came in some weeks ago is doing better. He was obviously the victim of an electrical burn, but his leg is healing much better than we expected. He has lost a couple of talons and a toe or two, but hopefully he will continue to make improvement.
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A young harris' hawk came in last week and it was reported he had been eating some chickens in somebody's yard. It was further reported that the chickens might have been poisoned. Besides wrapping a wing that seems to have a slight impairment, he is being treated for possible toxin exposure.
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Earlier today, Amanda got a call from the hotline about an injured hawk quite near the Liberty facility. At the house, a cooper's hawk was found in the back yard, seemingly unable to fly. Making a classic rescue grab, the bird was brought to Liberty where she then helped Lilly do the preliminary assessment. No broken bones were apparent, but X-rays will confirm any structural damage.
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John Gomes (right) with Doug and Michelle after his first rescue mission last May.
Last May, Doug McCarter and his good friend John Gomes began flying rescue missions to the Kingman/Ft.Mohave areas to pick up injured birds and animals who needed to get to Liberty for help. John had his own airplane and really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to help. Over the next few months, John and Doug flew several of these "Air-evac" missions for Liberty bringing in various GHO's, RTH's, Gila monsters, etc. who had no other options but to find their way to Liberty for life-saving care. Ten days ago, they flew to Kingman and brought back the beautiful red-tail in the photos above.
Last Monday, John was flying his airplane locally and experienced some mechanical problems as he returned to the Deer Valley Airport. Tragically, he was fatally injured in the ensuing crash landing. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends. He did a wonderful service for the animals he transported, demonstrating that he truly had the heart of an eagle.
1 comment:
"Very sorry to hear about John Gomes. I had read in the past of all the wonderful work he had done for Liberty. An honorable man gone on to a better place."
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