This Week at Liberty
June 2, 2026
Hoots, Howls, and Hollers
Megan Mosby
Executive Director
Vacation Birding… and Mindfulness Awaits
I learned today from the weather person that June 1st is the first official day of summer, meteorologically speaking. To me that means vacation plans are happening and perhaps travels are on your calendars. At this point, the ideal vacation for me would be a lovely spot away from hustle and bustle of my daily life…a guilt free get-away into nature. There are so many options, but a spot to hike, bird, and commune sounds just about perfect. Apparently, this isn’t uncommon and birding is moving up as one of the favorite pastimes of a wide array of people. In fact, some surveys indicate that one in three Americans are hitting the trail to birdwatch.
The stereotypic birder was a lady of a certain age dressed in khakis with her binoculars slung around her neck wearing her birding vest festooned with pins, notebooks, field guides and other field ready equipment. There is nothing wrong with that, but….
This isn’t an accurate description, anymore. The birding world has opened its very wide wings to embrace a plethora of other folks who don’t fit that image. Beginning birders are coming in all shapes, colors, ages, and walks of life. No longer traumatized by the fact that there are over 11,000 bird species, worldwide…equipment and information are flying into the birding community so that all of us can partake without the overwhelming fact that there are just so many things to learn.
New Resources
Bird books are plentiful, but today’s modern birder just needs a cell phone to start. There are many apps that make the hobby doable right now. One that I use religiously is Merlin® Bird ID. To democratize things, it is free. I use it daily. I used to marvel and be totally intimidated by those experts who earned their birding badges and accolades by spending a lot of time in the field. They could identify a “butterbutt” by the sound…. OK, first…what is a butterbutt and what sound do they make. It isn’t enough that there are so many birds with so many different sounds but now these experts in the field have “nicknames” for them… and a butterbutt is of course a yellow rumped warbler….yikes!
But now, I can turn on my app and have it listen for nearby birds….it tells me what I am hearing (for the most part) and shows me a photo. I can go to the natural history, the travails of migration and the specificity of breeding locations, see similar birds, and just have it all at my fingertips. And, then I actually see the prize…confirmed…logged into memory…on my way!
How cool is that? To the experts I am sure there is a little looking down the nose at novices like me…but, heck, it gets me out in the field, enjoying every minute of the hooded oriole or the verdin that just appeared in the vicinity. There is a little bit of a problem if your local mockingbird is playing tricks…but you can learn to spot it also.
Podcasts Galore
Once the total intimidation has worn off, you can expand your learning, looking for podcasts on the topic of birds, nature, forests, oceans, deserts, etc. and learn so many truly interesting things. There are science-based podcasts, listing podcasts, natural history tips, gardening and wildlife podcasts exploring companion plantings so you can be in nature at home. The opportunities are endless.
In fact, you may not have to go far to find the right spot to practice mindfulness in your path. And, that is really what it is all about. Vacationing is an opportunity to be in a location where you can practice really seeing, hearing, feeling the natural world. Being mindful is the best way to utilize your time away…to take it all in…benefit from the shift in awareness…be one with the natural world in a way that will remain with you when you return to the “real” world…
Get your vacation money and time’s worth and take it all home with you.
This Week @ Liberty
The intake total for the year is now up to 5645.
I just got back from a wonderful short trip to San Diego where I watched a mom and dad raven escort a large red-tailed hawk from their area on a golf course, and also enjoyed cooler weather. I’d be remiss not to say I didn’t miss it here, as I usually do, despite the heat and busyness this time of year brings. Not only are we taking in more hospital intakes than we did this same time last year, we’re seeing a whole slew of people sign up to be members (which is amazing, because beyond the benefits received, those membership fees also help with the feeding and caring for the animals you bring to us.
It’s a really great giveback program. Many people drop off an animal, like a pigeon or dove, and choose to donate to support the care of those animals. But you can also choose to become a member and get some additional bennies; a hawk level gets you free admission to public hours for a year, a 10% discount in our lobby store, and you get to spend an hour with one of our amazing volunteer trainers.
Every level is different. If you’re interested in signing up (or just checking them out), definitely take a look here!
By: Acacia Parker | Public Outreach Coordinator
It’s so Fluffy I’m Going to Die!
Listen, I know the title is a little misleading, but, I swear there’s a point behind it, and if you’ve ever watched Despicable Me, you’d know exactly where that’s from. For those who haven’t, the 2010 cartoon follows a supervillain named Gru who adopts three little girls (for what reason, I can’t remember!) and at some point, during a carnival outing, the littlest finds a unicorn that is “so fluffy I’m going to die!!” And you absolutely must make sure you say that in the highest pitch voice you can.
But I digress; there’s a point here, and that point is that I have never seen a nestling American Coot and holy cow, they are fluffy! And so cute! How did I never know this??
Anyway, these incredible waterbirds float like a duck. But instead of webbed feet, they have long toes with super broad lobes of skin on them to help them get through the water (which retract when they’re walking on dry land). The American Coots have more in common with a sandhill crane than they do with mallards. They tend to gravitate toward freshwater wetlands, suburban parks, large lakes and yes, even sewage ponds. They tend to enjoy areas where there’s a lot of aquatic vegetation along the shoreline, as well as some level of standing water, because hey! their food is a lot of algae, duckweed, hydrilla, waterlilies (you get the idea). And when they’re feeling adventurous, they’ll eat insects like beetles, dragonflies, snails, and oftentimes tadpoles and salamanders, all of which gravitate towards the same areas.
And, yes, they even build their nests over water, finding dead vegetation and dense stands to help create a floating platform of sorts to lay eggs and incubate. Sometimes they’ll even lay their eggs in other coots’ nests (like the cinnamon teal and franklin’s gulls).
If you’ve ever seen an adult in the wild, you may have noted how they take off for flight; they have to beat their wings while running (usually across water) for a hot minute to get up and out, and even then, they usually look a little clumsy.
But they’re really awesome birds to have around. Plus, they are way cute, which is always an added bonus.
For now, this little one (who isn’t quite so little anymore) is venturing outside into an aviary where he can get big and strong before heading back out to the river or lake where he can continue to do all the wild stuff he needs to do.
By: Acacia Parker | Public Outreach Coordinator
Notable Mentions
Well, summer is here, and unfortunately there’s no way for us to fight it. Our public hours are still Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am-11am (donation only!) and our hospital intake window is open rain or shine, seven days a week, from 8am-6pm. We’re currently up 41% from this time last year, so we are busy, busy, busy!
Without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
- Nestling mockingbirds happen to be chilling in one of my hopseeds in my backyard! I have the joy of watching mom and dad come and go during the day, and was able to get a good snapshot in the interim (1 picture)
- Our resident greater roadrunners are out and about and, yes, posing, for some candid photos (4 pictures)
- A bullfrog finds a sweet spot between lilies for some sunbathing (2 pictures)
- The goats have found a very lazy way to eat a meal (1 picture)
As always, thanks for reading!
Until next time!
By: Acacia Parker | Public Outreach Coordinator
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