Megan Mosby
Executive Director
Many volunteers and supporters aren’t aware of all the unique activities going on behind the scenes at Liberty Wildlife. For instance, we have been the way station for Italian honeybee hives for an Urban Beekeeping company, Alveole. The company is busy creating “bee friendly communities for geener cities by repurposing space in commercial settings.” It is part of a greater effort to enhance the lives of these pollinators while providing sustainability and educational efforts for corporations.
Today, Amanda who is employed by Alveole and has been maintaining our hives, was in to do a final check to prepare the hives for the winter. She generously showed a group of us how she maintained the hives. We were shown the drones, the workers, and a queen in the process. We tasted the honey… beyond compare… and saw all the bees settled back into the hive until the next check up. The whole process was amazing and for anyone bee phobic, rest assured that these were gentle and forgiving Italian honeybees. One spent a goodly amount of time in my hair and on my hand…no aggression….no fear. They were lovely creatures and the honey is sublime.
We agreed to be a holding station because we believe our organizations share a similar mission. We recognize the need to support our pollinators, locally and world-wide. Here are a few pearls from their website:
- Pollinators are responsible for about 1/3 of the foods consumed by humans.
- Most plants need to be pollinated to bear fruit.
- North America has lost over 50% of its managed honey bee colonies in the last 10 years.
- Loss of habitat, pesticides, introduced invasive plants and animal species, diseases and parasites are reasons for the decline in the numbers of bees.
- Honeybees can be domesticated plant pollinators.
The more I learn about the bees, the more I would like to have a hive of my own. Roof top hives have many positives. They are away from predators, big and small. They don’t seem to mind the heat, a plus in the desert. In fact, we were told that the rooftop hives produced the most honey, and avoided pests better!
Having bees around is an incentive to plant flowering desert-adapted vegetation…variety is the key. Bees are particularly attracted to the purple/lavender shades of blooms for their intense sweetness…who doesn’t…right? They use their sensitive vision to spirit out the pollen on the yellow/orange range…how adaptive. And, with these guys, variety is the spice of life!
Do yourself a favor and one for the planet while you are at it. Plant bee friendly plants in your yard…and know that you will also be helping the birds, bats, butterflies, and other pollinators, too. If you know of a corporation taking advantage of this service give them the kudos they deserve. And thank a pollinator for your apple a day.
This Week @ Liberty – November 8, 2022
It seems cliché to say, but every year seems to go by just a little faster. Here we are, only two months from the end of 2022 and the start of a new year, and it feels like so much has happened and yet there’s still loads more to do. Halloween has ‘left the building’, and with it, all that candy and goodies I’m sure we all indulged in. Next up are the winter holidays, which I honestly can’t say I fare any better with since peanut butter fudge and butterscotch cookies will be getting made in my house frequently.
On top of all that, it’s the busy-ness of the holiday season. Whether you’re going to a holiday party or shopping for gifts, November and December always prove to be a doozy.
Here at Liberty Wildlife, we’re just the same, although admittedly, it’s a different kind of busy. While we may not be shopping for all our feathered, reptile, or mammal friends, they’re still getting all the love and good vibes one can get this time of year.
There’s never a shortage of it here!
This is Halloween: Wedding Bliss
Love is in the air, and what better time to show that love than when things are getting cool and spooky and fun?
Former Liberty Wildlife Volunteer Sara and her partner Al were here to prove just that; with a Halloween inspired wedding, they offered guests a once in a lifetime experience here on campus. They were married just after sunset beneath a twinkling of lights and the calls of our Animal Ambassadors in our Upper Mesquite Bosque, then promptly moved to the Gardens to enjoy drinks, charcuterie boards and tamales.
Of course, dancing ensued shortly after, and guests were able to enjoy two of our Animal Ambassadors who came out to say hello: Ace the Peregrine Falcon and Snickers the Great Horned Owl.
Overall, the wedding was a smash hit thanks to great company and a wonderful atmosphere. If you’ve ever wanted to host your own event here, we are able to host a variety of events on our beautiful campus; corporate lunches, classes, weddings, birthdays, and memorials are just some of the events we’ve hosted.
Click here to find out more!
The Intake Window
If you have ever dropped an animal off here at Liberty Wildlife, you may have wondered about the volunteers who greet you, and whisk the animal inside for our medical volunteers to assess.
These volunteers at the Intake Window are our first ‘line of defense’ for injured wildlife. They not only greet the public at the window, they also identify the species of birds and gather information to better help the medical team assess the animal. Location where the injured animal was found; if were they on the ground; does the animal have obvious signs of distress; the answers to these questions are very important for our medical volunteers and vets.
Ever thought you might want to be that person on the other side of the window?
If so, we have openings for Intake Window volunteers! You don’t need to know all the species; we also teach you how to handle the birds and get them safely moved into a warm, dark, quiet place until the medical team can assess them.
Unlike our Education or Medical Volunteers, this position doesn’t require a six-month commitment; after your orientation, if the Intake Window is where you want to be, you can sign right up and get started as soon as you’re able!
Ready to take the leap? Click here for the application!
Alert! Raptor(s) Release!
While I can’t speak for everyone at Liberty Wildlife, one of the best things about being a volunteer here is the ability to release rehabilitated birds back into the wild. It’s a unique experience that’s both inspirational and exhilarating; some of these birds have been here for months recuperating from their wounds. Watching them grow healthy enough for release is wonderfully humbling.
Education and Daily Care Volunteer Claudia (with a friend) took three Swainson’s Hawks to Eloy, AZ for release just before Halloween. These birds of prey can only be released at specific times of the year due to their migration patterns, and we were happy to see them join the ranks of wild birds (two ‘teenagers’ and an adult). In case you didn’t know, these raptors have one of the longest migrations in the Americas—it’s a round trip that can be more than 12,000 miles!
Then comes our infamous Elf Owl. After testing those wings (and doing such a great job!) he was taken to Tubac, AZ, where he was given a scenic tour of the Anza Trail. There, he’ll have lots of grasshoppers and bugs and little critters to hunt. Remember, you won’t see much of these guys come the winter months…but once summer comes back, they’ll be out and about once again.
Notable Mentions
Once again, I thank you for taking the time out of your day to read about Liberty Wildlife; I hope that despite the briefness of these stories you’re gleaning what happens here, and all the work that truly goes in to rehabilitating injured animals. We couldn’t do it without our dedicated volunteers and staff, or without you coming to see us for Public Hours, inviting us to off-site events, or hosting your events here on our campus.
So, thank you! And without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions!
Phyllis and Ceci show the difference between a male and a female American Kestrel during Public Hours (1 picture)
Animal Ambassador Ada shows us who’s boss (1 picture) (Picture taken by Ceci)
Anna shows off Emmit’s flying abilities to a field trip here on campus (1 picture)
Volunteers join staff member Brooke for a day of pulling weeds and cleaning our campus (1 picture)
A wild Great Horned Owls stops by to say hello on Wedding Night (1 picture)
Doris helps Animal Ambassador Venus with a mouse (1 picture)
Thanks again for stopping by! Remember, we have plenty of space to host your own events, and Public Hours are happening Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays from 10am-1pm; drop by and say hi!
Until next time!
Posted by Acacia Parker
Public Outreach Coordinator
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