Nature News
February 28, 2025
Nurturing Nature
By: Carol Suits
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
Check out these living things. Can you tell what their habitat might be?
All living things have a place that helps keep them alive and safe. It’s their habitat (see photos to guess what these animals’ habitat might be!).
The Superheroes learned about the habitat of a Harris’ hawk and a baby tortoise.
Next, they searched the Liberty Wildlife campus to pick 2 living things to be their Partner Pals and to discover the habitat for each Partner.
Everyone got a Partner Pals Certificate! Good job, Superheroes!
Learn About Mammals in March!
The Superheroes are going to learn about the mammals of Arizona and meet one of the very special mammals that lives at Liberty Wildlife.
HINT: That mammal is in the poster along the bottom row (in photos). We call him Groot!
Puzzles!
Enjoy some puzzles to wind down for the day!
Keeping Urban Birds Safe
By: Claudia Kirscher
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
There are many threats to the urban birds that share our communities. Here are actions you can take to lessen man-caused threats:
* It is illegal to feed wild animals (except birds and tree squirrels) in Arizona, in the counties of Maricopa, Pinal and Pima. A human food source is not healthy for them. They may become too comfortable close to or around people, setting the stage for conflicts and/or attacks.
* Bird water baths can harbor and spread disease. Change water daily. Once or twice a month add 1/2 cup bleach to the water, cover so birds don’t get in, and let soak 10-15 min. Scrub and then rinse thoroughly.
* Clean bird seed feeders periodically with a 10% bleach solution to prevent spread of disease. Discard damp or moldy seed.
* Consider planting habitats of native plants and flowers as an alternative
* To prevent collisions, don’t place feeders close to windows.
* Place window strike deterrents on your windows. There are many types on the market.
* Do not use glue/sticky traps or fly strips outside where birds may encounter them.
* Stop using rat poisons. These kill not only the rat, but their predators such as hawks, owls, eagles, coyote, bobcat, mountain lions and your dog and cat. Research alternatives.
* Never get too close to an occupied bird nest. Too close or too often can cause the parent bird to desert the nest, putting the young at risk of death.
* Dispose of trash responsibly.
* Decrease excessive outdoor lighting around tall buildings in the urban setting. These lights cause the bird to become disoriented and collide with buildings, especially during migration. Join an organization that educates building owners to decrease or eliminate lighting during high peak migration nights.
* Keep your cat indoors!
MAKE IT PERSONAL AND BE PART OF THE SOLUTION!!
**original post May 2022
Get Out and Bird
By: Gail Cochrane
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
A Real Experience
Cornell Lab’s website All About Birds has a tremendous range of information about birds. Bird identification and natural history, migration maps, and live cams. Their Bird Academy has classes on everything from nature journaling to bird song basics. This is a wonderful resource for all bird enthusiasts.
But hey, the weather is beautiful right now, so let’s shut off the screens, and go outside! There we can have direct experiences with birds. Bring your binoculars and a paper and pencil if you like. Maybe some sketching will happen. Later, when its 110 degrees out, we can dig into what’s what at Cornell Labs.
Birding in winter is extra exciting, because rare visitors sometimes show up. A lone Yellow-rumped warbler spent some time in my yard yesterday. What a surprise! Winter trees with their bare branches can offer easier bird spotting opportunities. And, as mentioned earlier, it’s a lovely time of year to be outside.
I often see birds in my backyard, no hiking or driving required. We have plenty of native plants to provide food and shelter for visiting and resident birds, and we keep a fountain filled with nice clean water. These attractions are irresistible for regulars like house finches, Curve-billed thrashers, Northern mockingbirds, mourning doves and Gambel’s quails. Lately a Greater roadrunner has been coming by, on the lookout for baby lizards. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to see this large member of the cuckoo family flicking her tail and crown patch as she peers around.
Nearby parks and schools that have large trees and open space are great places to spot birds. At the park down the street, I get pretty excited to see Vermilion flycatchers, with their bright red feathers and cheeky attitudes. I also see great-tailed grackles, Say’s phoebes and red-tailed hawks.
Desert Botanical Gardens, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Gilbert Riparian Preserve, Papago Park and the river trail at Liberty Wildlife are all great local birding areas.
Magnificent raptors such as red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, Cooper’s hawks and Harris’ hawks are surprisingly common in the suburbs. Remember to look up! I have seen all of these birds on one light pole or another at various times, if not soaring overhead.
I’m sure you have a list of the desert birds and wintertime visitors you have seen as well. How lucky we are to have such amazing creatures just outside our doors. It’s as easy as walking out there and spending some time looking. Real experience is always the best.
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