This Week at Liberty

For anyone who knows me well, they know I am not a huge fan of shopping. I’m not good at perusing—I want to get in, get my stuff, and leave. It’s mostly the reason I online shop now. I can get everything I need from the safety of my couch. No traffic, no people-ing, and I’m guaranteed to find everything I need if given the right amount of time.

If you’re confused why I’m talking about shopping, please know I have a point (I’m getting to it right now!).

Once Halloween has come and gone (which will be here next week!), the holidays will officially be upon us. That means shopping for food, gifts, and all the things those holidays entail. Which means that some of your bird nerd friends might really appreciate some Liberty Wildlife swag. Between tree ornaments, puzzles, mugs, and t-shirts, we have everything you may not know you needed in your life for your nerdy bird friends.

It also means you need to make a little trip here to see all our cool stuff, and of course, say hello to your favorite animal ambassadors while you do!

If you’ve been to Liberty Wildlife, either for public hours or an on-site event, you may have come across the Non-Eagle Feather Repository. I know I’ve chatted about it a few times before, too, but that isn’t going to stop me from chatting about it again (maybe there’s a pop quiz at the end of this blog…you may want to take notes).

Quick refresher: we began our partnership with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2010, with a mission to provide Native Americans who belong to a federally recognized tribe with a legal source of non-eagle feathers for religious and ceremonial purposes.

For us, this means those birds who come through our doors with injuries too far gone to be saved, or those who pass quickly after arrival, are given life in a new kind of way. In fact, the non-eagle feather repository has sent out 6,554 orders as of today. And this month alone they are sending out a record number of orders all across the United States, many of which were backorders from the summer.

And if you’re wondering why the backorders, the answer is simple: like most everything else here in our warm state, it all has to do with the weather. For parts of a bird needed for a ceremony—like wings, tails, talons, and individual feathers—those can be sent out at any time. Whole bodies, however, which many tribes utilize, our summers are too hot to send those safely. Hence, the backorders now being shipped out!

What’s even more amazing is where they go. Currently en-route are orders to the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians in Lake County, CA; Miwok Wilton Rancheria in Sacramento County, CA; the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin and the Pit River Indian Tribe in Burney, CA.

It all goes to show that while we can’t save everyone, we can still give new life to feathers that can no longer fly.

Before we get in to the nitty gritty that are blood feathers, let’s take it back to basics, shall we?

Feathers are the thing that make a bird, well, a bird! Not only do they protect the skin from the elements, they protect the bird in extreme temperatures, and of course, aid in flight. Much like our own nails and hair, feathers are made of keratin, and with each feather arising from a follicle in the skin, these areas are arranged in specific patterns all over the body.

During a molt (which is a normal loss of feathers all birds go through), a new feather begins to grow beneath. This is called a pin, or blood, feather. Now, this new feather has a blood supply which flows through it, and is encased by keratin which coats the feather sheath. It’s through this blood supply that a feather is able to mature and grow (you can tell where the blood flow is where there is a dark blue color on the shaft). And, as it goes through this process, the blood will begin to recede back into the follicle.

For those who have pet birds in pairs, you’ve probably noticed your birds preening (cleaning) each other; for most birds of prey, their solitary life means they do this themselves. Little by little, they will clean that keratin casing off to reveal a beautiful, new feather beneath. And, once that feather is completely grown, the blood supply is lost, and the feather is simply…there.

Sometimes, though, these feathers can take a bad hit, opening the newly forming feather. For us here at Liberty Wildlife, that means we keep a watchful eye to ensure the bleeding stops, the area coagulates, and the raptor in observation takes care of the issue on their own (which we want them to do!). Sometimes, that blood flow just won’t stop. When those cases happen, that means the feather has to go—follicle and all. Once removed, the blood supply is cut off, the bleeding stops, and the bird is as good as new.

So, if you have a pet bird at home, remember, don’t panic. Blood feathers aren’t unusual; you just want to make sure you’re keeping a close eye on those feathers so they don’t get worse.

Here we are at the end of October; Halloween is just around the corner, Cocktails and Condors (with Wishes for Wildlife) is not too far behind, and all kinds of other fun happenings are popping up all over. If you don’t follow us on social media, I highly recommend you do. There’s all kinds of fun stuff that gets posted, including events and allllll the things we got going on around here.

Of course, without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions (I’m a little light this week, guys, I’ll do better next time!):

A juvenile swainsons hawk is brought in by AZ Game and Fish after being found in a parking lot in Winslow (4 pictures)

Venus the barn owl chills in the amphitheater (1 picture)

Remember, public hours is officially in our fall hours; come visit Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays from 10am-1pm. The intake window is open rain or shine, every day of the week, from 8am-6pm. And, make sure to keep an eye out for all those fun events coming up in the next few weeks!

Until next time!