Orphan Care

With the help of our dedicated volunteers, we are able to care for thousands of orphaned and injured songbirds every spring/summer season. The seed-eaters are tube-fed a gruel containing the same nutritional elements their parents would have provided. The insectivores eat a mixture of 28% protein bird starter and worms, as they need a higher protein content than the seed-eaters. Eggs are turned in the incubators, where those hatchlings that don’t even have down yet are kept warm. The sound of peeping is steady in the cozy room, and also the ring of the window bell. New arrivals are registered and given a number that will follow them through their rehabilitation and out to the aviaries, where they will grow bigger and stronger before being released back into the wild. Not every bird survives, of course, but Liberty Wildlife is at the forefront for percentages of success. The tiny ones that don’t make it were given the very best care possible. The desert’s early nesters are already at it, and soon nests will hold baby Gila woodpeckers, cactus wrens, mourning doves
and great horned owls. As these nestlings begin to mature and move around, some of them will fall out of their nests. Storms also bring many baby birds to the ground. This is a natural process, and for the most part the parents will continue to feed and protect their children. If you see a baby bird on the ground, watch to make sure the parents are still around. If so, and if you can keep your dog and cat indoors for a few days, the fledgling will soon be on his way. If the dangers are such that you feel it would be best, you can bring the baby to Liberty Wildlife’s orphan care nursery. More than fifty volunteers are needed to staff Orphan Care seven days a week from 7 am to 7 pm. There are three shifts per day. If you have a few free hours and would like to help Arizona’s wildlife this year, please contact us as soon as possible. Training will be held on March 24 at 10AM and the shifts will swing into action on April 1st. Children must be 18 or older to volunteer unless they are accompanied by an adult, in which case they must be at least 14. Please be aware that it requires a special touch to work with these small animals, and that it can be sad if they don’t make it. To join this special group of volunteers, please call the Liberty Wildlife hotline at 480-998-5550, and choose option two to leave a message for the volunteer coordinator. You will be called back within a couple of days. All of our current volunteers agree this is an experience not to be missed.