The intake total is now at 275.
Life is a learning process, and we're learning new things at Liberty all the time. This week, we confirmed that baby bird season starts with a bang, windy days this time of year can be a dangerous thing (at least for baby birds), motorcycle riders of all ages care about wildlife, and we learned that we have two educational birds that are misnamed!
Let's start off with more recap of the Born 2 B Wild annual motorcycle run...
Followed by a dual Harris' Hawk release! (photo by Allen Spencer)
The results are in for this year's annual Born 2 B Wild benefit motorcycle run and it appears to have been a hit! The weather was perfect and attendance was high. From the start at Logan's in Mesa to the finish at Cody's in Carefree, everyone seemed to have a great time! As always, two rehabilitated harris' hawks were released to complete a wonderful, successful day in the Arizona sunshine!
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The beautiful white barn owl that is in our care is still being treated. The verdict on what caused the bird's injury is still not in but as time passes, electricity is becoming one of the prime suspects. Lesions on the bird's feet are suspicious as is his sometimes drooping wing. We're still hoping that a full recovery is possible as this guy would produce beautiful offspring if he is returned to the gene pool.
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Two pretty waterfowl are in our care. One, a great egret in the onset of breeding plumage, is slowly recovering from a wing injury. The other is a young great blue heron that Carl brought down from Camp Verde last week. The first year bird has a break in one bone of his right wing but the damage is minimal and in a fortunate location and since he is so young, his prognosis is excellent.
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A sharp-shinned hawk came in with a head injury last week. These are all too common and generally, the birds frequently don't do well after such an injury. This little guy, however, has made drastic improvement and is responding to treatment. Fingers crossed, please!
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Two of our education birds have demonstrated why naming raptors is such a difficult thing, unless you name them all "Pat!" Both Henry and Magellan have laid eggs and are currently incubating. It seems we guessed incorrectly as to their gender when naming them, as we have done so frequently in the past. I suppose it's only really important that THEY know who're the boys and who're the girls in their world. Since they are housed alone, the eggs are infertile, so they will be allowed to sit on them for an appropriate time and then, when the hormones subside, the eggs will be removed so the birds can resume their normal duties.
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The star of the nursery last week was this little newly hatched green heron. He seems to have started the onslaught of baby birds that is beginning to grow each day...
Liberty Orphan Care: It's not just for raptors any more!
Babies, babies, babies... All species are dropping on us, and the strong winds over the weekend didn't help. Carl brought in couple of newly hatched GHO's and I did my share today as these two came in from the Phoenix Humane Society. The orphans were found on the ground, probably blown from the nest prematurely by the wind. Too young to make it on their own, they were marked (with colored talon paint and a dollop to the head!) and placed with one of our wonderful GHO foster parents for care and proper imprinting! It's a system that works well and the older birds seem to love it as well.
1 comment:
This morning while having my coffee I open the Liberty Blog site and had a great laugh. Your reference to naming all birds "Pat" to avoid inaccurate sexing was hysterical. It bought back all those episodes of Saturday night live and that character you wanted to stare at yet look away. I appreciate all the work you put into this weekly endeavor.
Thank YOU, : >
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