Megan Mosby
Executive Director
It’s Raining Cooper’s Hawks!
It’s raining. Not the real rain that we desperately need, but raining in the form of baby Cooper’s hawks. “So what?” you say!
Well, I can remember a time when I very first got into this business when seeing a Cooper’s Hawk at our facility was cause to exclaim. They were rare. We hardly ever saw them. We were in awe.
But, all of the sudden ratios began to change. Instead of seeing Inca doves in abundance, they began to disappear. It wasn’t because there were fewer of them. I believe it is because we slowly but most surely began to see an increase in Cooper’s hawks who, you guessed it, prey on Inca doves.
This past week the skies opened, the heat pumped up. Baby Cooper’s hawks began bailing out of their nests. Many of them were just about to fledge anyway, and they will be okay if they managed to escape the nest without trichomoniasis (canker).
That is a whole other problem. Avian Trichomoniasis is a highly contagious single-celled protozoan that lives in water especially stagnant water. It thrives in warm moist environments like a bird’s mouth and throat. When it takes over in a bird, it causes inflammation, ulceration, blockage and eventually can lead to starvation and death. It is particularly present in pigeons and doves….favorite meals for a bird-eating Cooper’s hawk.
If the parent picks an easy prey, like a sick dove or pigeon, which they often do, it becomes the next meal for the babies in the nest. Adults can adapt and don’t die from the protozoan, but babies don’t have time or strength and often die in the nest or shortly after leaving it.
As a result, many of the babies that we take in have active trichomoniasis. If caught in time they can be treated and readied for release…the best option.
Since the onset of Orphan season at Liberty Wildlife, we have taken in 111 young Coopers’ hawks. Two weekends ago, we took in 78 of that 111 total so far. When the temperatures hit 110 and up, the babies jump or fall out of the nest and end up in your back yard. (We have need for more volunteers in our orphan care program. If you are interested, fill out an application!) For the most part, if they are clear of Trichomoniasis and have hard pinned flight feathers, they may be on the ground only a short while. In most of those cases, very brave and insistent parents will guard over them and bring them food. All is good, if they aren’t besieged by pets in the yard or curious kids.
We would certainly prefer that mom and dad do the training, but we are here to help. I think it is interesting that the doves and pigeons have their revenge from being picked off for a Cooper’s hawk dinner, but it does mess with the balance of things.
Better yet, keep your bird water sources clean. If you discover birds with Trichomoniasis empty the water, treat the container with bleach, and leave it dry for 14 days. The protozoa needs water to survive and your emptying your source forces the birds to spread out and find other sources of water. Overcrowding of water sources compounds the problem of spread of the disease.
The season of Cooper’s hawks will eventually come to an end here as releases of babies begins. Make sure when they visit your yard they find a good, clean source of water. It is better for all of the birds that delight us that they have the a little help with the big necessity in the desert. Just don’t let that source of water be a source of contamination. The doves get trichomoniasis and the ultimate revenge is that they pass it on to their predator.
Make the cycle stop at your backyard water fountain.
This Week @ Liberty – June 18, 2024
If you’ve been reading the blog thus far, you’ve probably noticed me talking a whole lot about exploring and, subsequently within that process, unplugging. As an older millennial (I promise it’s not a bad word!) I grew up through an era of 80’s heavy metal music (thanks to my dad), with an Atari to play Pac-man (thanks to my mom) and knowing the streetlight was the sign to come inside for the night. But that also means I grew up with the excitement of getting my first cell phone at sixteen when text messages weren’t even a thing yet; when the internet had just begun its journey and my research remained in the library. Where leaving the house meant I had to use a friend’s landline when I got there to let my parents know I’d made it.
In retrospect, having a reliable means of consistent communication is incredible. One of my best friends isn’t even on this continent, and I met her because of the technology that allows us to be in-tune. All the time. Whenever we want.
But that’s what makes “doom scrolling” so easy. Those little thirty second videos on social media are a procrastinators dream (hi, it’s me, I’m the problem it’s me). And after spending my entire last week in Nassau, Bahamas, walking the beach, listening to the waves and unplugged from my phone in a way I haven’t been in quite some time, it was a reminder how much time I’ve made for scrolling rather than pursuing my creative outlets I’ve let slip. Or doing little projects around the house. Or just about anything that requires me to sit my phone down and not be inundated with information 24/7.
So, once again, I’m going to climb this hill and remind you, and myself, that as important as it is to stay connected—to friends and family and everything in between—it’s just as important to unplug. To get back to nature. To turn your phone off and take that walk without headphones or a podcast and listen to the world and what it has to offer. Because before this world of high rises and cell phones and constant media, we gathered, we played, we read, and we connected—not just to other people, but to nature, too.
If you do anything for yourself this year, I implore you to do this. I promise you won’t regret it.
What I Missed Last Week
Speaking of being gone for a week…the few times I did check my phone while traipsing on a white sand beach and listening to those waves, Liberty Wildlife was going through something quite differently. In fact, we took in a record number of animals last week.
That’s right, you read that correctly. On Friday, June 7th, we had 130 intakes (22 of them were Cooper’s Hawks). On Saturday, June 8th, 140 came through our doors (25 of those were, you guessed it, Cooper’s Hawks). And halfway through Sunday, June 9th, we’d taken in 68 new intakes (with 6 of those also being Cooper’s Hawks). In fact, Cooper’s Hawks are making up for 15.6% of the animal’s we’re seeing right now; with a 10.7% increase of intakes from this time last year, we’re busy, busy bees. Which meant on my first day back from work, we got to work in what I liked to call “musical raptors.” It’s exactly what you might think it would be—we moved around loads of birds to make room for all the new one’s coming through our doors. Because a lot of these kids (and a lot of them are, in fact, kids), have canker (a protozoan called avian trichomoniasis that’s found in the water and creates mucous membranes in the throat and mouth). Which puts them into isolation and on medicine prior to being moved to ICU or outside.
Of course, that doesn’t make up for the pigeons, doves and grackles (and so much more) coming through. Orphan Care is seeing their fair share of kids, which means we’re still on the lookout for volunteers (you can apply here!). In fact, we need help everywhere, so please sign-up for an info session and see what interests you!
But if I’ve said it once I’ll say it again…thanks to all our volunteers for taking the time and energy to be here. Not only are you all dealing with the heat, you’re dealing with a whole lot of animals who need our help and doing so with earnest.
We quite literally would not be here without you. From all of us here at Liberty Wildlife, thanks for all you do.
Notable Mentions
My favorite section is running a little short this week (with good reason, but still!). We’ve got a number of projects working around campus right now, and we’re sticking with our summer hours for now, too. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays were open for Public Hours 9am-11am with no schedule programming. Our intake window is open every day from 8am-6pm, so if you find an injured animal in need of our help, you’ve got plenty of time to get here!
Without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
- Laura H. checks for a possible viable Burrowing Owl egg (1 picture)
- Zelda the Grey Hawk decides sunbathing is a solid choice in the summer heat (1 picture)
- A nestling Swainson’s Hawk with a fractured leg and wing hangs in ICU while being treated (1 picture)
- A Flammulated Owl makes a quick escape (2 pictures)
As always, thanks for being here with us. We appreciate you more than you could ever know!
Until next time!
Posted by Acacia Parker
Public Outreach Coordinator