Megan Mosby
Executive Director
It’s All About the Water
Especially now in the hot desert where we live, and right in my yard, I have bird feeders, fountains, tree canopy, and walls. All of this provides a wonderful safe spot for observing the wildlife that comes to that part of the yard, especially the birds. I enthusiastically stock the coffers with all sorts of favorites and needs of my feathered friends.
The seed-eaters, particularly the mourning doves, white-winged doves and the Eurasian collared doves dominate the containers providing seed, merely through their bigness. Originally, I thought the spilled seeds would simply result in rampant weed growth. Silly me. No sooner than the feeder was tipped by the grande white winged doves, the provision of loose seeds was an open invitation to the multiple quail families to move in… and move in they do. To my delight, they scratch with their feet, and power probe with their beaks leaving not one trace of a seed beneath the feeders. The orange slices strategically placed to attract the hooded orioles get usurped immediately by the finches who were ousted from the seed holders. By the time the orioles find the orange slice they are faced with the leavings—the rind…not too appealing.
However, the real attraction for all of the species in the yard…and from near and far…is the cylindrical fountain that is the focal point of one of my happy places. It attracts them all. The hummingbirds drink from the sides as the water spills over the edge, that is, when they are not bathing with enthusiasm. I have seen eight lesser goldfinches splashing with abandon all at one time. It made for a very colorful topping to the otherwise sort of drab water source. The finches, doves (all of them), bronzed cowbirds, Abert’s towhees, curved-bill thrasher, verdins, woodpeckers, flickers and multitudes of sparrow varieties stop by to drink and bathe. And, there are the grackles in their ferocity that bathe and splash and submerge until they look near drowned…almost to appearing water logged while they laboriously fly to the nearby wall to shake it all off.
I know I see them smiling.
But, for me, the prize of the day is the appearance of the hooded oriole, his wife and eventually the kids. They come to feed maybe…but they definitely come to drink and bathe. The water splashes high and robustly. They duck and shake. They open their wings and splash water on their bodies. They shake and shimmy and eventually, one by one, fly off to their safe space to cool through the hot part of the day. They are my most handsome visitor and always cause me to pause.
I have nighttime visitors also and may try putting a camera out to see who visits from the really nocturnal end of the spectrum…which I am not!
These fountains are definitely the draw. And, this presents a greater need for cleanliness in the fountain department. Disease can spread through contaminated water. Drinking water out of a fountain or well-used water source by a contaminated bird can spread the contamination to fellow drinkers who then can unknowingly spread it to their babies. This can result in huge outbreaks of trichomoniasis, which can possibly lead to ulceration and a build-up in the esophagus of the individual that can, among other things, block it off….end result…starvation!
So, enjoy your fountain, allow the avian neighbors to enjoy your fountain…but keep it clean and keep them smiling.
This Week @ Liberty – July 16, 2024
Monsoon season is in full swing, which means not only do we have the heat, but we get the humidity, too. Now, don’t get me wrong, my skin certainly loves the moisture, but would it be too much to ask for some rain in the north valley? It seems my homestead has missed the storms a time or two (but a girl can still hope).
Still, that means we’re continuing to see an influx of animals come through our door. This weather means birds are finding ways to stay cool, and for many of them, that means finding spots in the shade and on the ground. You’ll want to make sure before you grab one of them to bring in that they are in need of our help—a good rule of thumb is to watch them for a few hours, and, if you have any questions, call our hotline @ 480-998-5550.
Of course, our intake window is open, rain or shine, every day of the week from 8am-6pm if you do need to drop any wild friend off.
Updates around Campus
If you’re a homeowner, you know there’s one consistency that comes alongside it: work. You’re either updating something because you feel like a change, or you’re fixing something that needs fixing to keep the house working (like a new roof, or repairing drywall damage from a leaky washer, or more roof work from a leak…).
In retrospect, it’s not so different than Liberty Wildlife. As many of you know, there are a lot of moving parts that come with our line of work. Between the animals coming in and all the volunteers and staff here to help make them comfortable while they’re here, there’s always something happening. And a lot of that includes repair work, or updates, needed around site.
Our most recent addition? After a few weeks of work, new pavers were installed in the amphitheater for a less dusty experience for our birds, and our guests! It makes quite a difference, not just for public hours, but for on-site events, as well (certainly makes for a more aesthetic look).
Of course, that means the wetlands needed to get some cleaning done, too. While the lilies are beautiful, they can overpower just about anything. Which meant Brooke, our facilities maintenance coordinator, got geared up to get right in and get it done.
This also leads to something I talked about a few weeks ago; swamp coolers. Back on the rehabilitation side, we have what we call our ‘retirement corner’. Though not all these birds of prey are retired per say (when we say retired, we mean they don’t go on any education programs anymore), they are at a point in their lives where the heat is just a little too much for them. This means they get enclosures with their very own swamp coolers to help beat this summer heat.
Now, while I could go on and on and on about repairs we are doing and need done, most of those are minor (like doing little things to enclosures or fixing hoses). In August, we’ll close for the entire month and really get to work on all those little things before we reopen for public hours in September, so make sure to keep an eye out for that date and hours!
Do we ever stop taking in animals?
Our line of work here at Liberty Wildlife is not one you hear about often; it’s a small niche with a big impact with loads of different entities taking a part of the whole. With a whole lot of wildlife rehab centers all over the United States, we’re all doing our part to help wildlife as best as we can.
One can assume, then, that regardless of where we’re at in the United States, we get asked similar questions, like what kind of animals do we take in? Are there more of one species that you take than another? Yet the biggest one—How many animals have you taken in so far this year? —always leads to a bigger one:
Do you ever reach a capacity where you can’t take in any more animals?
For us here at Liberty Wildlife, the answer is no.
There’s a few reasons for that, the largest being that we have the capacity for it. Being on just over 6-acres of land, with a large portion of that dedicated to our rehabilitation effort, we have the space to make room as needed. Outside, we have space to make more flight cages, move birds around as needed (something I have dubbed playing musical insert-bird-name-here), as well as utilize donated steel cages as needed.
This goes for inside, too. While we can’t just build inside, we’re able to play musical raptors as we see fit. After that three day stint in June where we took in a record number of animals in a few days (with 115 of them being coopers hawks), we had to adapt quickly to make everyone comfortable. That meant shifting raptors to different areas, updating isolation rooms to ensure coopers and kestrels were together with hawks and owls in another, and creating more space in ICU by shifting those birds outside so birds who had to stay in triage could move to ICU.
Like I’ve said before, there are a lot of moving parts here at Liberty Wildlife. And we make it possible with the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who spend day in and day out helping to get it all done.
Notable Mentions
With only three-ish more weeks in July, remember our public hours remain open on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am-11am. We’ll be closed in August for repair work and a much needed heat break (don’t we all, though?), before opening back up in September. Which means you’ve only got a little bit longer to come by and say hi before that happens.
Until then, and without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
Bodhi the Harris’s Hawk hangs at ANDAZ to say hello to guests and scare away the birds so they don’t eat your breakfast food (1 picture)
A Western Pipistrelle drops in for an assessment before being sent to a bat rehabber (2 pictures)
A very late to the party nestling Barn Owl is brought in after falling from a nest (1 picture)
Maya the Crested Caracara is looking pretty on a summer afternoon (1 picture – by Ceci)
Open the blinds to my office and who do I see? A kitty just chilling in front of my window! (1 picture)
Cheese and Quackers take a leisurely dip in their bathtub (3 pictures)
Anasazi the Golden Eagle fans out her wings after getting hosed down on a hot summer afternoon (1 picture)
As always, thanks for hanging with us so far this year! Your continued support means the world to us; make sure to keep an eye out for upcoming events this fall so you can come and say hi to us and your favorite animal ambassadors!
Until next time!
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
Leave a Reply
Posted by Acacia Parker
Public Outreach Coordinator
Hi Megan, Acacia, and Liberty team!
I have a fountain and have been considering setting it up, but there are two big questions making me pause:
– Are you able to advise or point toward good resources for keeping a fountain clean for birds? Like chemicals to use, frequency, etc?
– Is there any concern that my dogs may catch a bird-originated disease like trich if a sick one happened to visit my fountain and left droppings or something nearby for my dogs to get into? (The fountain’s tall enough the dogs can’t reach it, and they tend to ignore birds in the yard anyway, so I’m not concerned about direct interactions.)
Thank you!
Hi Chris!
Great questions, let’s see if we can answer them!
– We would advise not to use any chemicals at all. If you do need to clean, we recommend draining the fountain, cleaning with soap and water, rinsing it, and then letting it dry for a few days before refilling
– That shouldn’t be something to worry about unless your dog is eating and/or licking the droppings. As long as they steer clear of that, they will be just fine (but just in case, it’s always a good idea to clean that off your fountain, too!)
Thanks for reading, and good luck with the fountain!