Spring is officially here and the intake number is inching upwards. As the temperatures begin their inexorable rise, these will assuredly climb as well.  The weather has been mostly benign but when the springtime winds hit, the inevitable spike in orphans blown from their nests will happen. We have already seen a few owl orphans arrive after a couple of windy days recently. Because their nest ‘departures’ were so premature, injuries resulted from the fall. The good news is we have a wonderful staff of vets and techs plus the state-of-the-art hospital at our facility which allows us to immediately offer these little patients top-notch medical treatment.  This is, after all, what we do…!

We are still treating the mother GHO that was shot while brooding her young in a palm tree on the west side. Her condition remains guarded and her vision is still in question. Further updates will follow.

We are also treating a peregrine falcon that was also a gunshot wound. Under the care of Dr. Semick with assistance from Sara, this bird is doing well which is refreshing as we seem to be getting in more than our share of gunshot birds of late.

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An adult barn owl came in recently and was examined by Dr. Scagnelli on Wednesday.

The bird was found on the ground and an X-ray showed he had a possible  coracoid fracture. It was not known what caused this injury but it was most likely a collision with something while the bird was in flight.

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After a period of gusty winds recently, four baby owls, two barn owls and two GHOs were brought in. It was apparent that all four had fallen an appreciable distance as broken limbs were presented by all of them. The two great horned babies each had broken wings, having fallen from a great height near the ASU stadium in Tempe. The two siblings, each with a broken wing, are now recovering together in the ICU.

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The baby barnies had fractured legs, one having both legs broken. The extraordinary growth rate of baby owls makes splinting broken limbs difficult, but this also helps bones to heal faster – assuming you can keep the ends aligned during the mending process. Dr. Orr was on hand to her experienced hands to the wrapping procedures.

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Along with the baby owls, we took in some baby hummingbirds, nestling thrashers, baby cottontails, and a spiny softshell turtle.  This last specie wasn’t an orphan, but rather another victim of a careless fisherman as X-rays showed he had ingested a fish hook which remains inside him. Hopefully it can be surgically removed allowing him to be released.

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The bald eagle that come in with higher lead levels and insecticide poisoning a few weeks ago has improved markedly. Last week Kyle and Jennifer from AZGFD came down to record his measurements and put identifying bands on him for future tracking. This is all done prior to his release back to the wild. He had been found eating at a landfill up on the rim, presenting behavior consistent with toxic ingestion.

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In and around Liberty:  Last week Liberty Wildlife hosted a group of students from the Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine who attended a class in necropsy.  For those unfamiliar with the term, a necropsy is a surgical examination of a dead body, most commonly a dead animal, in order to learn why the animal died. Many of the animals that are treated at Liberty have this procedure done after they die, especially if the circumstances of the animal’s demise are either unknown or suspect in any way.  These students got hands on training in this very essential skill in our large classroom facility.

We attended a Junior Citizen Science Festival last week, put on by the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy where several busloads of bright, eager youngsters were allowed to explore the desert north of Scottsdale. The kids went from station to station to view and experience the flora and fauna of the McDowell Mountains and the surrounding ecosystem. As always, Liberty Wildlife’s birds were a big hit with the kids.

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