This Week at Liberty
June 17, 2025
Hoots, Howls, and Hollers
Megan Mosby
Executive Director
A Little Life Saved
Reposted from Shelley Amber on our social media page… and her kind words need to be shared.
Liberty Wildlife is a sanctuary in Phoenix dedicated to healing and rehabilitating lost and injured animals. It’s a place where compassion meets purpose—and now, it has become a part of my own story.
One sunny morning, my son Lukas was having a meeting outside on the patio when a tiny, trembling bird hopped right up to his feet. From the kitchen, I heard him call out, “Mom, come here quick!” I rushed outside and looked down to see the smallest, fluffiest little creature nestled in his hands. Lukas handed me the bird and simply said, “You have to help it.”
Without hesitation, I called Liberty Wildlife. I gently placed the fragile bird in a container—nothing fancy, just something safe—and began the drive into Phoenix. When I arrived at the sanctuary, I stepped out of the car just as a man and his daughter, maybe eight years old, walked up with their own small box. We didn’t know each other, but we shared the same mission: to save a life. Her container was lined with soft tissues and held a little water bottle inside. Mine wasn’t quite as cozy, but I held it carefully, feeling the weight of responsibility and hope.
I smiled and asked the little girl, “What do you have?”
She looked up at me with bright, excited eyes and said, “Two baby hummingbirds. They fell out of a tree.”
As we walked together toward the Intake Window, we could see three magnificent grey hawks perched just beyond the glass—strong, regal, alive. They were survivors of past rescues, living proof of what love and care could do.
In that moment, the child inside me awakened. Seeing her innocent hope, her belief that even the tiniest life is worth saving touch something deep within me. We connected without needing many words.
Inside, an employee kindly took in our creatures. She mentioned how many animals they feed around the clock in the distance, I heard a goat bleating cheerfully, adding to the lively hum of the sanctuary. There was energy and purpose all around us.
For me, this place became more than just a refuge for wildlife—it became a refuge for my own heart. Life can feel heavy and uncertain at times, but standing there, surrounded by those who care and creatures finding their second chance, I felt something rare: Peace.
I know now this is a place I’ll return to—not just to drop off, but to give back. To volunteer. To heal alongside those who heal.
Thank you, Amber, for the kind words and for getting it… our mission! It sounds to me like more than one “little life was saved.” And we look forward to seeing you come back to our little place of peace. For any else inspired to volunteer, we have regular online orientation sessions. Reach out, sign up, and come join us.
This Week @ Liberty
The intake total for the year is now up to 5100.
I may have missed father’s day, but that still won’t stop me from saying happy father’s day to all the wonderful dads (animal and human alike)! Hopefully everyone had an amazing day; I certainly had a chill one. Although, this time of year I feel we’re limited by the weather, which makes for a great day in the pool with a drink (or two).
That also means we’re seeing a lot of animals come through our hospital (trust me, more on that later). Between the heat and the wind, we aren’t the only ones hoping to find cooler weather (we’re just lucky enough to have a/c!). A good reminder this time of year: if you see nestlings on the ground, it’s a good idea to monitor them for a bit. Often times, mom and dad are closely watching, and feeding, their kids. Unless those kids are injured or sick, they do better out in the wild with mom and dad.
When in doubt, make sure to give us a call at 480-998-5550, remember to press 1, then 2 (where you’ll be prompted to leave a message) and one of our hotline volunteers will be happy to call back and help!
What Busy Season Brings
You’ve been hearing me say it’s busy season for a while now, and as annoying as it may be, I’m going to continue to say it. Busy season is busy season; we all have those times in our lives, every year, where we have them. For us here at Liberty Wildlife, it’s a different kind of busy. As organized as it is chaotic, we prepare for this every year, and every year brings something new to the table.
To give you an idea of what busy means for us: between June 1-15, we took in 1038 new patients. Of those new patients, 81 were cooper’s hawks. And while many of those same patients may have simply fallen from the nest because it’s hot and they’re attempting to cool off, many others need wing or leg wraps, anti-inflammatory/biotics for cat or dog attacks, or some combination of wraps and medications due to their injuries. What’s more, because the cooper’s hawks are bird eaters, and avian trichomoniasis (a protozoan in the water that creates lesions in the throat and head) runs rampant in the heat, most of these nestling raptors have canker. This places them in a smaller part of our hospital—Isolation—to go through a course (sometimes more) of antibiotics before they’re able to be moved outside to foster care.
So what does this do for Liberty Wildlife? Well, it trickles down the chain, so to speak. With more birds coming in, our medical service volunteers are working diligently to assess birds, get them banded, and then move them to their appropriate spot (ICU, ISO, or Orphan Care). Daily care is here at sunrise to begin work outside, where they clean, refill waters, and feed the raptors. Inside, our hospital is full, and many of those volunteers are staying longer to work through cleaning cages, getting birds moved, feeding, and working with the medical team to ensure these animals are getting the best care they can.
Plus, with the heat now officially upon us, spray season is here! Volunteers are asked to come in at 2:30pm and 4:30pm to spray off the birds to help keep them cool (which is great for the birds, not so much for our water bill).
All in all, this is the IT part of our year. From 8am-6pm, we have the public dropping off wildlife they’ve found, alongside our own rescuers bringing in animals called into the hotline. Our intake volunteers often have a line through their shifts, and work hard to help the public with the wildlife they’ve brought to our doors.
If I haven’t mentioned how amazing our volunteers are before, I’ll say it now. We could never make this work without them. With so many moving parts, we work because they do. And all these animals have a second shot at getting back into the wild because of it.
Of course, as a side note: we took in 136 cooper’s hawks in June of last year. Will we beat that number in 2025? We’ll have to swing back and find out next month!
Notable Mentions
Thanks so much for reading! Always remember our intake window is open, rain or shine, from 8am-6pm, and if you need to call for any questions, feel free to call us at 480-998-5550 where one of our hotline volunteers can assist if you’ve found an injured animal. Public hours is still going Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am-11am with no scheduled programming, but only $5 to get in!
Without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
- A wild little bird? Wonder what it is… (2 pictures)
- Want to become a member? There’s all kinds of levels to choose from! (1 picture)
- Laura H. takes Cochise to the Morning Show for their July 4th segment (airing Friday, July 4th) (2 pictures)
- Mammal enclosures are being built near Alpo! (1 picture)
- Arya the red-tailed hawk sunbathes at ANDAZ (1 picture)
Make sure to stay hydrated out there, friends, it’s a hot one!
Until next time!
More Posts from Liberty Wildlife
May 6, 2025
The story of 24-7116, a female ferruginous hawk, began with us on July 2, 2024. She presented as a massive buteo, the largest of our soaring hawks.
April 8, 2025
I am doing a survey of great importance to me and to Liberty Wildlife, and I need your help.
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