Programs, Programs, Programs!!!

OH man it has been a busy education program for Liberty Wildlife.Tons of programs every week consisting of booths and formal presentations for schools, boy scouts, fundraisers etc. I have been signing up for as many programs as possible and working with all the birds on my level.Through my training I have learned so many things about Arizona Wildlife! The things our animals do to  live and thrive is absolutely fantastic! Red Tail Hawks have developed special hunting techniques to use for rattlesnakes to make sure they can get a meal without being bit!  Check out this video by National Geographic to see a red tail in action.



Also a Great Horned Owl can hear a mouse chewing grass from a football field length's away because of their special ears and the way they are able to triangulate noise! These are just a few examples of Az adaptions but  I highly recommend reading up on some animals in your area and learn about what they use to help thrive in their habitat.

Below are some pics of me doing some fun education stuff! I really enjoy reaching out to people and teaching them about the wild world we live in! Who knows if something I teach them will stick with them for life and help them make a difference in the environment.  :)

Snickers the Great Horned Owl 

Acoma the Red Tail Hawk ( My favorite bird!)

Henrietta the Barn Owl

PS Liberty Wildlife's annual fundraiser Wishes for Wildlife is coming up in early May! Stay tuned to their blog and here for more information on what you can do to help support Liberty Wildlife! We are also having a motorcycle fundraiser and raffle in March  for Liberty. Check out Two Gals Event Planning to enter to win a 2011 Soft Tail Deluxe motorcycle! And finally check out my fellow Liberty friend Balinda's blog to read her experiences at Liberty!

Sara and Acoma at Gilbert Riparian

Here is Sara with her bud...Acoma, the Red Tail Hawk.  They are actually about the same age!  Liberty visits the Gilbert Riparian about once a month.  Check out our calendar @ http://www.libertywildlife.org/public-calendar/ for an event near YOU!

Western Screech Owl

Ivan takes a good look around before closing his eye and blending in.

Please take care of our fragile world

How soda caps are killing birds .I was sent this very sad article regarding trash and its impact on birds and I want to share it with everyone I can. Throwing away your trash is such an easy thing, yet so many people choose to throw it on the ground for convenience. Not only do animals, such as the birds in this story, eat the trash but they also take trash items such as fishing line back to the nest. This line can get woven into the nest and wind up strangling a baby chick as he moves around in the nest. Trash bags are another item that cause trouble for birds, many pictures of birds with trash bags over there bodies are easily found online.

please please please take care of your environment. We don't think a little item such as a soda cap is a big deal, but there are billions of people in the world and if more and more people keep discarding trash improperly it turns into a huge deal that will not only affect wildlife but also ourselves.

Releases

Over the summer I was also able to do a couple releases featuring kestrels and a great horned owl. April-september are some of our busiest months due the heavy increase of mating among the bird species. I am not sure of the stories of the birds I released by we were able to get them back up and running and back into the wild.

Some Fun Facts about these two birds:

The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America, and the second smallest in the world. They can dive at up to 60 mph and can see Ultra Violet light.

The Great Horned Owl are called Tigers of the Sky because of their fierce hunting habits. They also love to eat skunk, they lack a sense of smell so they can't get bothered by skunk stink!

I am the worst, I know. So much has happened since I last updated. I have become and Sunday Daily Care Lead so I am in charge of the Sunday crew and I tell them what to do! Woo Hoo for them! Haha I have also joined the Liberty Education Department so I am training to take birds out to programs and educate people about conservations and Arizona Wildlife. I am very excited and I can't wait to start programs! We also have an
Aplomodo now in our education department and what a beautiful bird! I hope I can work with him soon. Here are some pics from over the summer.

Walking Snickers the Great Horned Owl back to his enclosure.
Tiny baby Gambels Quail
Frodo the Burrowing Owl giving the evil eye Aka an Angry bird
Me and Acoma the Red Tail Hawk doing a practice session

More Acoma! He is probably my favorite bird at Liberty.

California Condor

Here is the California Condor with lead poisoning that we are taking care of. He is slowly but surely feeling better! I also included a video of him with his wings out sunning, he is huge and he still isnt fully stretched out!