Tuesday, December 14, 2010

This Week at Liberty 12/14/2010

The intake total for the year is now at 3200.

Sorry this is a day late. I had some yard work done this weekend and my cable got cut!
OK, we had a couple of nice releases this week, a ceremony for feathers, an eagle project, and the usual birds in trouble! Plus, the important role X-rays play in proper diagnosis. Let's get to it!
Ready for the release.
On to a new life!
Back in Mat of this year, I brought in an orphan GHO who joined the growing list at Liberty. He was raised by our foster parents and grew fast and strong. Now ready to take his place in the Arizona night, he was released last week by some wonderful people in the Paradise Valley area. They have lots of wildlife in their back yard and provided a great place for this little guy to start his new life!
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The distribution ceremony principles...
The agents and staff received a special blessing.
As always, the Ed birds were a hit for the impressive crowd!
Libby is always a star.
A ceremony commemorating the initial distribution of feathers by Liberty to individuals in the Native American community was held last week. Representatives from local tribes, Liberty Wildlife, and the US Fish and Wildlife Dept. were on hand as were several Education birds and their handlers. The ceremony was held at the Native American Connection facility down town and an official from there offered prayers and a special blessing for the recipients and for all who worked to make this program a reality. Joe and Lady Liberty, as well as Jan and Phoenix, were available for photos before and after the event.
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Joe does some preliminary clean-up work.
The new storage area looks great!
Another eagle scout project was completed last week as Eagle candidate Nick Sterner headed a team of scouts who poured concrete and rebuilt shelves at the corner of our facility to store carriers and other equipment. Nick saw Libby at a show a couple of years ago and decided to do his project for us when the time came. This kind of work is a welcome supplement to what the regular volunteers do and allows the scouts to complete their eagle projects in a worthwhile manner.
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The Liberty Air-Evac service comes through again!
A pretty barn owl - with an ugly break.
Not a pretty picture.
OK, that's NOT a red-tail!
"I just don't feel like flying!"
Who would do that to a beautiful bird like this?
Liberty got back into the air again this week as Tim McAdam flew his personal helicopter up to Kingman and Fort Mohave to retrieve two injured birds. One was a very pretty barn owl who has a badly broken wing. The bird even showed up with his own X-rays! The other one was supposed to be a red-tailed hawk, but when we opened the carrier, inside was this gorgeous prairie falcon! Jan and her Vet-night team couldn't find any obvious injury but she seemed reluctant to fly so we called the North Valley Animal Clinic in Ft. Mohave to inquire as to the bird's story. It seems she was found on the ground at a local park, surrounded by kids who were pelting her head with rocks. We're still evaluating the extent of her damage...sigh.
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A great looking HaHa - with some not-so-great problems.
The left side (arrow) should look like the right side (circle).
We currently have a great looking harris' hawk that can't fly. The X-rays showed us why: she has a badly damaged coracoid bone in her right shoulder. This bone, connected to the upper end of the humerus, the scapula, and the furcula (wishbone), provides support and motion stabilization for the wing as it moves, thus is crucial for flight. Although the bird appears totally normal from the outside, her skeleton in this region is a mess. This is why our ability to obtain quality X-rays is critical.
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Lead pellets show up disturbingly well in X-rays.
This one was hidden, but explained why the bird was having troubles with motor skills.
Not only can X-rays indicate bone damage, they are particularly useful for detecting and locating bullets and other gun-propelled projectiles in the birds we take in. One hawk that had been shot appeared mostly healed but was having a difficult time moving normally. Jan suspected another pellet in or near her head and this was confirmed by further X-rays.
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Nina's holiday desk.
Everyone else is too busy to decorate, but Nina, even though she is also swamped with projects and work, always takes time to get into the spirit of whatever holiday is coming around. Last week she strung some Christmas lights at her desk, showing she has the right attitude - and spirit - for the holiday season!
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If you want to have a great experience and wish to help Liberty at the same time, think about the Verde Canyon Rail Road for a cool Arizona adventure! While partnering with Liberty Wildlife, they are holding a raffle for our benefit. A sculpture done by Greg Woodard is the prize ands all proceeds go to Liberty Wildlife! (See last week's TW@L)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again Terry, thanks for a great newsletter. Always good. The x-rays of lead shot are interesting. The first is probably done by someone out for Quail as the shot appears to be #7 1/2 or 8. Typical of what quail hunters use. As Quail are not waterfowl there is no steel shot rules for them so what this bird has is lead shot. The second x-ray is a .22 cal pellet from an air rifle. This is not a kids toy BB gun but a serious weapon with a muzzle velocity upwards of 1800 FPS....serious. Thanks..
Art

corey flood said...

I would like to Thank everyone for all the wonderful ways you have helped not only the Native people but also the sacred birds you restore back to their original beautiful selves.You have helped my spiritual walk in more ways than you could ever possibly know. Pilamaya, Corey Flood