Megan Mosby
Executive Director
Are You My Mother…?
It is kind of hard to miss…the hopeful chirps, cheeps and chatters emitting from the Orphan Care porch, annex and inside the Orphan Care facility. I am pretty sure that within each ‘feed me, feed me, feed me’ translation is a little mouth gaping to be filled. It doesn’t seem to stop until the lights go out at the end of the day…a brief respite for the human foster moms and dads to take a breather and ready for the next sun rise. It is Orphan Care time at Liberty Wildlife. It is a time when wildlife, nature and Liberty Wildlife could use a little help from our friends.
And, that means we really need your help. Every time the wind blows; or the sun sizzles; or a bad fate befalls a parent bird, there are babies in peril. The idea of just letting nature take its course here is untenable. These little guys haven’t had a chance yet to be grownups. They haven’t flown free; they haven’t learned their songs; they haven’t spread their little birdie wings or genes for the next generation. Without the help of Orphan Care volunteers, they get robbed, shortchanged.
This is where you come in.
Maybe you have a few hours that you could spend helping these little guys get a second chance. You don’t need any previous training…we’ll provide it all. We’ll provide you with all of the tools of the trade to take the place of parent beaks and warmth, including all the precautions to avoid imprinting on the birds. We’ll even supply you with a brand new habitat, our new Orphan Care facility on campus, to perform your miracles. What you need to come with is a desire to help, patience to learn, and a commitment to your little helpless charges.
And, while you are considering a shift or two, you might need to know that little bunnies and squirrels and other small mammals get orphaned too. Eyes closed and unable to feed themselves, these little dependent babies silently await the return of their parent to take care of them….often to no avail and a concerned public does a rescue. The lost parent gets temporarily replaced by a caring human…hopefully in the nick of time…yet another place you could help. Releases at the end of the growing up time are a time of glee…look what a difference you can make in many lives.
Other areas needing help are stressed out during this busy time. The Hotline is as active as it will ever be during the year. This is something that can be done from home with manuals, training, and tools of the trade at hand…anyone who is caring and patient can make a difference from the get go with this first line of assistance. At the other end of the Hotline call is often a need to send a Rescue/Transfer volunteer out to help. The Hotline has vast resources at their fingertips and make a huge, huge difference in both the lives of wild animals in need and the frantic public who desperately wants to help and is unsure where to turn.
I contend that if someone can walk by a critter in need of help and turn away without some kind of positive and helpful action…they probably aren’t the kind of person I would want to know. Don’t be one of those. There are so many ways you can help with a little time, a lot of compassion, and commitment. I look forward to seeing you in Orphan Care….soon!
Sign up to help today! and start the volunteer process. We need you, wildlife needs you…and do it for yourself, because nothing is more rewarding.
This Week @ Liberty – May 21, 2024
I have decided Arizona doesn’t know what to do with its weather…at all. Here I thought I was safe to wash—and detail my jeep—when low and behold, rain and wind has decided to join us once again.
I can’t (and shouldn’t) complain about the rain; it’s certainly better than the hundred+ degrees we’ll be having here soon enough. But, that also brings pool time, lazy-ish afternoons, and of course, a lot of feathered friends. Because if there’s one thing that’s certain here at Liberty Wildlife, it’s that when it rains, it pours (all the baby birds, of course).
Busy Season is Upon Us and We Need YOUR help!
I know this is going to be redundant, but it goes to show just how much our wildlife needs your help. If you’ve read the blog for any number of months, you’ll know I’ve talked a lot about busy season. For anyone new here, busy season usually starts at the end of March/beginning of April, and extends to August, and sometimes in to September. The reason for the busy season?
Babies. All the babies.
Of course, this means we have a seasonal volunteer position that opens up; Orphan Care! For 4 hour shifts, volunteers get to come in and take care of baby birds. This includes feeding our insectivore friends (like Gila Woodpeckers and House Sparrows), tube feeding doves, pigeons and hummingbirds, as well as clean enclosures for those older kids who are feeding on their own.
But this isn’t the only area that needs help, because once those kids get big, they go outside, and that includes our raptor friends, too. Year round, our Daily Care teams assist in our ICU/ISO and rehabilitation side on taking care of the thousands of raptors we see every year. These teams—who come in rain or shine—clean enclosures, feed raptors, and are our first eyes on the ground to notice any changes in individual enclosures.
With only 13 of us staff, we run solely on volunteers. That’s right; we’ve got about 400 volunteers across Liberty Wildlife, doing all kinds of different things to keep us running and taking care of our native wildlife here in Arizona.
And it’s easy to sign-up! If you’re interested in giving back, and making new friends, click here to get your application in today!
Soft Shelled Turtle and the Not So Great Fishing Hook
Here is an animal we don’t see too often, though the why is something we do. Two weeks ago, a gentleman who was fishing happened to realize his fishing hook had been swallowed not by the fish he was going for, but a Soft Shelled Turtle! He jumped right into action and brought him here to Liberty Wildlife, where the Midwestern veterinarians and students were able to assess, and perform surgery, right away.
And with great results; the fishing hook was removed, and after a few days of recovery, this turtle was released back near the canal he was found in.
Which is exactly where you’ll find these guys if you’re out looking. Native to the eastern US, these large turtles were introduced some time ago to the waters in southern and western Arizona and have since become permanent residents. They’re highly aquatic, usually only going on land to bask in the sun and to regulate their temperature by burying themselves in the soil on the banks of canals and rivers. In fact, it’s their long neck and snorkel-like nose that allows them to stay underwater for extended periods of time; all they have to do is lift that nose up to the water’s surface, all while staying buried beneath.
Which brings me to my next point; those long necks make for a quick and powerful bite when they go for their prey. Crayfish, amphibians, fish and worms are all on their menu.
I always recommend giving wildlife a wide berth when you see them in the wild. But, if their hurt and need help, this is one to remember to be very, very careful while handling.
Eaglet Progress
If you follow us on social media, you’ll have noticed a few posts by our media guru Laura H. about a special resident we have here on-site: an eaglet! Having come to us at only 4-ish weeks old, this fierce raptor weighed a pound at the initial assessment. With a fractured left leg, our volunteer veterinarians have worked diligently to splint the leg to help heal the fracture.
Needless to say, not only is the fracture healing well (he’s standing!), but this little dude is getting bigger, and stronger, every day. Which gives us an opportunity to get him back to a nest; it won’t be his original one, unfortunately, due to the fact it’s in the direct sun during the hottest time of the year. He will, however, be placed with a another nestling, close in age and size, when the time is right.
Not only will this kid eat almost a pound of food most days, the kids will stay with their parents for ten to twelve weeks before fledging. And, believe it or not, at six weeks old, will be almost as large as their parents (hence the reason they need so much food!). Now, they won’t get that white head until almost 5 years old, when they are then considered adults, and will look to find a mate and have babes of their own.
Regardless, I’m really rooting for this guy. He’s a ravenous eater, and watching him stand, and use, that fractured leg has given me hope we’ll be able to get him back out sooner rather than later.
Notable Mentions
Somehow, this is a random week where I had more pictures for my other articles than I do for this one. It doesn’t happen often, but it certainly happens…and yet, still, this is still my favorite bit. All the randomness—all the little things I might not be able to talk in length about—are still totally worthwhile.
Without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
- A nestling American Kestrel drops in for assessment (1 picture)
- The wind has produced a ton of intakes for Orphan Care…sometimes, a cart is the only way to transport them (1 picture)
- A cowbird finds himself in need of care (1 picture)
- A Yellow-Breasted Chat hit a window and is brought in by a rescuer (1 picture)
Remember we are on our summer hours; Wednesday, Saturday’s and Sunday’s we’re open to the public from 9am-11am (donation only, no scheduled programing). Still, it’s a great opportunity to come and say hi to all your favorite animal ambassadors! And, if you’re in the business of dropping off an injured animal, our intake window is open every day of the week from 8am-6pm; you’ll want to follow the signs for animal drop-off, and one of our amazing intake volunteers will take down all your information to get the animal checked in to Liberty Wildlife.
Until next time!
Posted by Acacia Parker
Public Outreach Coordinator
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