This Week at Liberty
November 19, 2024
Hoots, Howls, and Hollers
Megan Mosby
Executive Director
The World’s Most Revered and Most Reviled Bird
I am unfortunately beginning to understand some of what is wrong in this world. Excuse me while I climb on my soap-box. I don’t believe I have done this in a while, but today I am absolutely compelled.
And here’s why. A lovely grey-haired lady came to the window to see if someone could help her bring in the boxes that she had in her car. Of course we did. There were two large boxes containing twenty-two pigeons of varying ages. Right there we knew, this would not be a routine rehabilitation.
And here’s how it unfolded. Her next-door neighbor in a community south of Anthem had some sort of a vendetta and an axe to grind about the pigeons in the area. He had installed all of the deterrents available to him for his house, but he still felt compelled to trap any pigeons in his orbit.
Okay, I know many people don’t like pigeons…for those of you reading this blog that feel that way I would like to refer you to a book called Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the Worlds’ Most Revered and Reviled Bird, by Andrew D. Blechman. It is the ”remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird”. Read it if you are at all open minded.
So, trapping the pigeons is one thing. I wouldn’t do it myself, and maybe you wouldn’t do it for many reasons. Even if you find them to be messy, they are still living beings just trying to make it in a world that isn’t too accepting. Shoo them away, trap and release them away from your space (sort of selfishly making someone else embrace them or not) but maybe that someone isn’t cruel and twisted like this neighbor obviously is.
You see, he didn’t just trap them and remove them. This vile person had a vengeful solution which is beyond me to understand. He clearly was “mad” about the problem of dealing with the pigeons, but not “man” enough to humanely dispatch them. No, he set up a cruel scenario. He picked each pigeon up out of the trap and broke both of their wings….and yes, then he released them. (The veterinarians at Liberty were unable to fix many of them because the breaks were so erratic.)
You need to understand my approach to wildlife rehabilitation. My first rule is “no suffering.” If an animal presents that is in pain, and unable to survive, we humanely and quickly end that life. It’s just the right thing to do. And if I were boss of the world, I would have ways of dealing with those who personally impose this kind of suffering on an animal. I would not be kind to such a monster….but that isn’t for this blog. What he did out of spite or anger or selfishness or whatever the hideous reason was, ultimately sent these now-crippled birds out to a slow death of starvation, predation, and suffering….and how long would it take of this misery before the death knell tolled? That’s cruelty, with no compassion, no humanity.
And, in case you are wondering, there aren’t many legal protections for a non-native species like pigeons (except the cruelty part of the Sherriff’s Department). But you also can’t set a trap that just solely traps pigeons. And so in this case, he also trapped native birds like cardinals, doves, etc. When this was called to his attention, his response was: “collateral damage.”
My response would have been that his action was totally in violation of the law. Native birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and can’t be trapped or killed or otherwise harassed. “Collateral damage” isn’t an excuse acceptable to that act. It is a criminal violation.
In Blechman’s book, he relates the story of a guy who raced pigeons. He sent his favorite female pigeon out in a competition, and she unfortunately didn’t return with the others. He was devastated. Two weeks later, he heard a kerfuffle on his front porch. He looked out to see what was going on and there was his favorite female pigeon, struggling up the steps of the porch with a wing that had been broken during the race. Somehow, she was able to survive and find her way back home, apparently on foot. That wasn’t just a dumb and messy bird. That was a smart animal from a species that has been maligned by too many people for too long!
When will we stop the irrational and mean-spirited hate and discrimination? I can’t speak for all of our society, but I know we at Liberty Wildlife will continue our work. We’ll continue to take in native wildlife that are ill, injured, or orphaned. And we’ll also take in those non-native animals that are in distress. Because it is the compassionate and right thing to do.
This Week @ Liberty
The intake total for the year is now up to 10,135.
I find it funny that, as I get older, I’m more inclined to host events like Thanksgiving. Thirteen years ago, at the beginning of my marriage, there was no way you could convince me to cook for 15+ people at any given time. Now, I’m more than happy to not leave my house (like at all), and if the payment for that is cooking for my family? Well, I gotta say, I’ll take that bet.
But some other people will be doing a ton of traveling this holiday season, and there are some bird species doing the same. They’ve had their kids and those kids have fledged and hopefully, moved on. For a lot of those same birds, that means moving down to warmer weather in southern Arizona or Central America where they’ll hang for the winter before heading back through in the spring.
For me? I’ll be happy here, where I can eat lots of deviled eggs for the holiday next week and, obviously, hang in very comfy not-having-to-leave-my-house kind of clothes.
Midwestern University: A Precise Surgery
One of the most amazing things we have going for us here at Liberty Wildlife is our partnerships. Everything we do works because there are a lot of other people out in the world who feel the same as we do. It’s why Midwestern University School of Veterinary Medicine has been, and continues to be, such a huge deal. Not only are we seeing a veterinarian here four days a week—who have an entire list of patients they see on the daily—we are helping to shape our future veterinarians as well.
Part of what those vet students are seeing is how ‘exotic’ medicine works. For those who don’t know this, medicine works different for every species. What works on mammals may not work on birds, or may work differently. And unlike mammals, wounds like fractures and abrasions on a bird can heal much, much faster. Meaning that quick, critical care is imperative to getting them healed and back out our doors.
It’s one of many reasons why having Dr. Goe and her team here to perform surgery, like on this poorwill, is a massive win. Not only is the poorwill getting a laceration beneath his eye cleaned and sutured for a second chance at getting back out in to the wild, the students on rotation are getting real life experience. Because none of what we do is a one (wo)man thing. It takes a group to make this work—someone working on checking heartrate; another checking the anesthesia; another handing instruments to Dr. Goe; and of course, whatever else she may need.
The work, as we all know, is worth it. This poorwill did amazing during his surgery and recovered just as well. Currently in ICU, our daily care and medical volunteers are keeping a close eye (no pun intended) on him. Poorwills only eat (insects) while they fly, it’s why rehabbing them can be extremely difficult. But with patience, and time, the laceration beneath his eye will heal, and hopefully, he’ll fly free sooner rather than later.
In the Spirit of Pigeons…
Speaking of pigeons, did you know these birds can lay eggs, and raise young, year round? While most pigeons have a typical breeding season between March-June and again in August-November, the truth is, pigeons are quite capable of laying eggs year round if it’s warm enough.
And clearly we’ve still got some warm days, which makes complete sense for why we got these teeny hatchling pigeons in just a few days ago.
Typically, however, these birds find a nest site in a nook or cranny where they can build their stick nests. Although, to be honest, they aren’t super picky; they can make do with abandoned buildings, stairwells, balconies, you name it. If they can build, they will. With a clutch size of 1-3 eggs, these kids will get incubated by mom for about 18 days before hatching. And with a nestling period of 25-32 days, they’ll fledge in about a month after hatching.
It’s great news for us, of course. Because while technically, orphan care season is over (guess these kids didn’t get the memo), it means getting them outside to our aviaries once their big enough happens, well, quick. From there, once their flying and eating on their own, they’ll head back out into the great Arizona desert to do what rock pigeons do…
Be adorable, of course!
Notable Mentions
It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of November, but alas, here we are. Our annual silent auction Wishes for Wildlife, combined for the first time with Condors and Cocktails, went off without a hitch. Our 2nd Annual Native American Festival happened on Sunday which brought people from all over Arizona to our doors. And we’re already looking, and planning out, our next year’s events—make sure you keep an eye out for what comes next!
Without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
Midwestern veterinarians and students set up a bandage/wrapping station for the 22 pigeons Megan wrote about (9 pictures)
A teeny vole makes an appearance in triage before getting some rest in the bunny room (1 picture)
Spot the fracture on a rock pigeon! Can you see it? (1 picture)
AZ Game and Fish dropped by to tag birds before releases (2 picture)
As always, thanks for reading! I so appreciate your continued readership throughout the year. Remember our public open hours are Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-1pm, with the intake window open rain or shine (except thanksgiving Thursday!) from 8am-6pm.
Until next time!
More Posts from Liberty Wildlife
January 14, 2025
There seems to be a few constants around this time of year and it has to do with the fact winter is finally upon us, which means mentally and physically I have gone into semi-hibernation.
December 3, 2024
My oh my, we made it! We’re in the home stretch; Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we’re on to more glorious holidays.
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