Megan Mosby
Executive Director
Animal Olympians
I happened by the TV the other morning while awaiting the weather news, and caught the performance of Celine Dion at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. I was stopped in my tracks. Overcoming adversity of the worst kind, a crippling neurological disease, she sang with power, glory and stunning success that many thought they would never hear again from her. I give her the first gold medal of the games. I am pretty sure there wasn’t a dry eye watching…well I can only speak for myself…but WOW!
I applaud the accomplishments of each-and-every one of these stellar athletes. But, of course, I am compelled to compare everything to the gold medal accomplishments of our fellow athletes of the animal world.
Let’s start with Track and Field competitions. The gold medal goes to the froghopper, an insect who can jump 28 inches which equates to a human athlete who could jump over a skyscraper. The froghopper does this impressive leap through the power of its hind leg muscles that flex like an archery bow with a force that exceeds 400 times greater than gravity. Human competitors jump with a force 2 to 3 times that of gravity and pass out at 5 g…imagine an astronaut launch and re-entry of 6g. Silver goes to the annoying flea which is capable of jumping 7 inches equating to 100 times its little body length. A flea can be clocked in at jumping 100 times its own height….silver, but still impressive.
Another track and field entry is in the area of speed, i.e. the sprinter. The sleek cheetah has been clocked at 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds….GOLD! The lion can speed in at 50 miles an hour in chase of its favorite prey item, the springbok going 55 miles an hour or the blue wildebeest going 50 miles an hour. I guess the fastest ends up with silver here…predator and/or prey. Long distance running/speed goes to the pronghorn antelope who can maintain a speed of 35 miles per hour for several miles because of special pads in its hooves and its ability to suck in large quantities of oxygen! Another gold…
Competition in the water is sometime harder to document, but studies indicate that the fastest fish in the water is the black marlin whose top speed has been logged in at 80 miles per hour. Silver would have to go to the sailfish slicing through the water at 67 miles per hour.
If you are an insect competitor searching for gold, look no farther than the horsefly, that is if you can follow it at 67 miles per hour.
Or, the award for carrying weights for a long distance might go to the tiny ant that can translocate an item of desire long distances with as much as 50 times its weight. That is about the same as a human competitor carrying 154+ pounds for miles…I guess a body made mostly of muscle has some advantage.
Then there are the aerial competitors. Granted mere humans haven’t figured out how to really compete unassisted in this category, but credit must be given to the fastest bird in the air. The peregrine falcon dives between 185 to 240 miles per hour…depending on who’s clocking. That sure sound like gold. However, here comes the golden eagle with all of its splendor diving for prey at 150-200 miles per hour. Vying for bronze in the air zips in the white throated swift at 105 miles an hour or maybe the Eurasian hobby at 100 miles per hour.
The animals competing deserve gold, silver, or bronze, but they really succeed in the contest to win the prey item they are competing for…keep your medals…and thank you very much.
Who knows how much better we would be at these games, if our lives depended on it. I for one am grateful not to have to find out.
As for the human competitors, Go USA!
This Week @ Liberty – July 30, 2024
Please don’t get me wrong; I love exploring Arizona, and I love the rain (when we get it). I would prefer, however, for those two things not to coincide while I’m camping in a tent in Big Lake where the temperature is quick to drop and the storms just as easily appear.
Admittedly, I still had a great time in my 4 ½ day trek up north, but I’m glad to be back in this heat (I am warm blooded, after all). I am also equally as happy to be back at work, where things are moving quickly and, at the same time, slowing down. A conundrum, for sure, but one we know well here at Liberty Wildlife. Orphan Care is still in full swing, our Intake Window is still seeing lots of birds, yet the huge surge we had in July has definitely slowed. So while we’re absolutely still busy, there are certainly parts that have slowed.
It’s a good reminder for when our public hours close in August (the Intake Window is open 7 days a week from 8am-6pm)—while we have a lot to do and prepare for the fall, we’re forever grateful for all the hard work our volunteers, staff and public put in to help our wildlife.
Birding in AZ: The Basics
Here’s the scenario: you’ve been to Liberty Wildlife a few times. You brought the family to different events, public hours—you name it—and have had some amazing up-close experiences with lots of our Education Ambassadors. You now know what to look for out in the wild, and have taken note of all the wildlife in your neck of the woods in the valley of the sun. But now you’re ready for something a little bit more. Something to get you out exploring the 48th state in all its glory…
And to spot some birds in the process.
“Collecting” birds has been a thing since ancient Egypt but didn’t quite become popular until the late 1800s when travel was easier and goods were quickly (for the time) transported. Originally, birds were shot, skinned, and then prepared as a ‘study skin’ that could later be studied. It wasn’t until Edmond Selous, an ornithologist in the 19th century, watched a ‘stick’ for hours before realizing it was a nesting nightjar that things began to change—obviously, for the better.
Hence, ‘birding’ was born, and with it, an obsession for many.
For those of you here in Arizona who are looking to become one with this herd, there are a lot of really great places to check out. The Chiricahua Mountains are considered one of the top ten places in the world for birding with hundreds of different species to see; Patagonia Lake State Park boasts Black Hawks, Grayhawk and even the Zone-Tailed Hawk. And in Tucson, Mount Lemmon not only has some amazing views, but also gives you the opportunity to see Orioles and Mountain Chickadees (a full list of birding spots in Arizona can be found here).
Of course, this leads to what you’ll need to start your adventure. Binoculars or a scope (one or the other for sure), a field guide or bird app (I use Sibley V2, but there are a lot of different ones out on the market), as well as some practice. There are more than 500 different species of birds in Arizona, and some of them look extremely similar. It’ll take some time, and practice, for you to get the hang of who you’re seeing when you get out there.
Still, if you’re looking for a hobby to get you out and about in this grand state of ours, birding isn’t a bad way to go. Not only do you get to enjoy the outdoors (when it cools down, mind you), but you’ll also get to see some beautiful wildlife (and trust me when I say you’ll see other animals than birds out there!).
And if I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again; exploring our natural world is never a bad choice.
References:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-bird-collecting-evolved-into-bird-watching-180980506/
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/binoculars-and-beyond-nine-tips-for-beginning-bird-watchers/
Prairie Falcon
In the grand scheme of Liberty Wildlife, I am a babe. Having volunteered for 3 years and coming up on my 2 year anniversary as staff, there is a lot I still need to learn and a lot I haven’t seen. It makes for an unending learning experience because there is always something new to see, and hear about, day in and day out.
Which is why having a Prairie Falcon come through our doors is such a sight to see.
Intake 24-7889 came in on July 18, unable to fly or move well. Emaciated and down, this beautiful raptor was placed in a warm, dark, quiet spot to rest before our volunteer vets preformed radiographs. Initially, nothing out of the ordinary was noted—not until a few days later when what appeared to be a large mass appeared in her crop. The vets were able to take another look at her and confirmed a sneaking suspicion: she has avian trichomoniasis, or what we call, canker. The vets were able to remove the mass, and she has since been placed in isolation to finish out her medication.
Found only in the western US, southwestern Canada and northern Mexico, our Arizona population hangs in low and moderate elevations in the winter and moves to desert grasslands and chaparrals during the summer. A medium sized falcon, these raptors can boast an almost 40 inch wingspan and weigh anywhere from 1 – 1 ¾ pounds.
What’s incredible about these raptors is their range of prey. During the breeding season, Prairie Falcon’s will go after rodents (like squirrels), small rabbits, hares and medium-sized birds (their tomial tooth allows them to sever their preys spine). When the squirrels go underground to escape the heat, these raptors will switch their diet to snakes, lizards and insects, including Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks.
They’ve even been known to hang around while Red-Tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers flush out prey for them, than steal their prize!
Either way, this bird is well on her way to recovery. Once so lethargic she could barely move, she’s now standing—and feisty enough—to be on her way as soon as she can.
Notable Mentions
Well, we’ve made it once again. If you’d like to come and see your favorite animal ambassadors before we close for August, this coming Wednesday, July 31 is the last one. When you come back in September (more to come on that), we’ll have finished some repairs and made some other changes to keep an eye out for!
Now, without further ado, here are this week’s notable mentions:
A juvenile Harris’s Hawk was found by the son of our Hotline Coordinator and got right to work on calling hotline and getting him in (4 pictures – by Debbie)
A Coachwhip was brought in after being found with puncture wounds around the face (1 picture)
Tucker the Great Horned Owl says hello (1 picture)
A beautiful sunset here at Liberty Wildlife (1 picture – by Debbie)
As always, thanks for being here with us and doing all that you do! We’ll keep you posted on our reopening dates and times, and let you know about all the upcoming events we have planned for the rest of the year.
Until next time!
Posted by Acacia Parker
Public Outreach Coordinator
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