The intake total for the year is now at...? (I don't know, I had to fly out of town today. Look for the update next week!)
A short week but some interesting updates none-the-less. Also some pics of a program at the Verde Canyon Rail Road, plus a totally awesome donation from one of our volunteers. Here we go...
A very nice lady brought this little bird in last week, explaining that she had him since October 1st! He had been in her backyard (along with her other pets) and had been injured somehow. She was keeping him in a cage and feeding him spaghetti, noodles, and some other pasta. She said the bird didn't seem to like the pasta but did like the ants that would crawl on the food! I told here that was because gila's eat insects so, in fact, she was feeding him a passable diet.
Whether or not he can be released is still up in the air...
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The small GHO with the large ear tufts now looks to be an electrical burn victim. Many times these types of injuries don't become evident until time passes and the damage from an internal burn shows up. The tip of his left wing is involved and Jan wasn't sure how bad it was yet. Only time will tell.
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A fairly uncommon red-tailed hawk showed up last week. At first it was thought to be a Krider's hawk, but now the prevalent thinking is that it might be a light morph harlan's.
The bird has some serious head trauma and is still on the "very critical" list. We are all hoping this beautiful bird will pull through and get released to spread it's genetic message around to other RTH's.
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Most accipiters that show up at our door are collision injuries, and most of these are young birds who have yet to learn that windows are not traversable. In this case, the bird is an adult as evidenced by the red eyes (young cooper's and sharpies have light yellow eyes.) Art did the intake exam and give the initial treatment so now we'll keep the bird under close observation to judge the extent of it's injuries.
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Four little burrowing owls that have been raised at Liberty by foster parent "Digger" were ready to go last week. Holly Hicks, one of our volunteers, took them down to the La Cienegas National Conservation Area south of Tucson to be released. There is a large colony of black-tailed prairie dogs there that are part of an effort to repopulate this species and since BuOw's and the BtPd's are one of the great symbiotic relationships in nature, the match up was obvious. The burrowing owls inhabit unused prairie dog burrows and the two species get along famously. These four little guys will join some others that arrived naturally.
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Liberty did a program at the Verde Canyon Rail Road last Saturday to help commemorate their 20th anniversary. On hand with several Liberty Education birds was Greg Woodard, a well known champion wildlife sculptor. One of his works is now on display at the train depot, and another of his pieces is being raffled off with proceeds going to Liberty Wildlife! Visit their website at http://verdecanyonrr.com/ for more pictures and information.
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OK, why is this picture in TW@L?
It might not seem like a big thing, but Liberty volunteer Susie Vaught donated a new "fixture" to the facility last week. If you've ever had to use the previous "equipment," you'll know why everyone thought this was a truly wonderful gift! Thank you, Susie!! You've secured a seat in our hearts!
3 comments:
Nice job, Terry, especially long distance! Megan's commentary re: Mike brought a tear. BTW, I'm very excited about the new seat at LWL!
Have you guys thought about contacting Dirty Jobs from the Discovery channel so you can educate more people about what Liberty does for the wildlife of arizona?
Sad to hear about Mike Doran. He always had a friendly word and a helping hand for all he met. He will be missed.
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