One bird has a new home. One bird came back home...

Saw-whet in tree	Rather than hold these two birds until the southward migration begins again, Jan Miller, Liberty's Animal Care Coordinator, believed it would be best to take the two birds to their summer grounds, allowing them to associate with their own species and take part in the migration cycle naturally. Jan contacted Troy Corman with Arizona Game and Fish, and the co-author of the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas. "Troy knows almost everything about every bird that breeds in Arizona," Jan said. "When he said you can find both species in the Flagstaff area, then both birds were going to be released in the Flagstaff area."
For Peyton and Fischer, Flagstaff brought up a whole new set of questions about possible release sites. "There's a lot of different habitats in northern Arizona and a lot of different elevation ranges along the sides of the San Francisco Peaks," Anne said. "We needed to have a good idea where one could find harriers and small owls during this time."
Saw-whet in tree	Fortunately, both are excellent birders with 15 years of birding experience in the Grand Canyon State. "We knew the birds needed higher elevations than Flagstaff and different habitats," said Craig. "The owl needed a forested area, while the harrier would need an open meadow lined by trees for cover. Our final guide for these releases was the excellent site guide, 'Birding the Flagstaff Area' by Frank and Linda Brandt."
Using the Brandts' guide, it was determined that the Lamar Haines Memorial Wildlife Area on the road to the Arizona Snowbowl was the prime area for a saw-whet release. At 8,600 feet, the Haines Wildlife Area sits in a southern Canadian-type forest of ponderosa pine, limber pine, Douglas fir and quaking aspen. The area is also home to flammulated owls, three-toed woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers and vireos. Because there are several snags (standing dead trees) in this area, the forest is a good home for cavity-nesting birds. "A short way up the trail into this wildlife area, we came across a closed area that was allowing to forest to revegetate," Craig recalled. "We stopped there for a bit listening to the chickadees and the flycatchers singing in the trees. The entire area was very lush and full of life." As Anne removed the little owl from his box, it became very alert. With a wish for good flying and good hunting, Anne released the bird and off it went to a nearby tree. After a few seconds it flew to another tree, then quickly went up higher before disappearing into some heavy cover. Even gone from sight, the two could hear the owl rustling to find better cover. "The owl had some good strong flights and was looking for cover to get away from the people and stay concealed until it was time to come out again," said Anne. "Those are good signs that this bird has recovered and did not become imprinted during the rehabilitation process." For the second release, Anne and Craig went west of the peaks to the Hart Prairie area. After a bit of driving down forest roads, the two found a great spot with meadow, water and trees. "There were small birds in the grasses, which is one of the prey items for male harriers, and we just knew there were small rodents in the same meadows," Craig said. "It looked and felt very similar to where we'd seen harriers in the Rocky Mountains." Again the two prepared the bird for a release into a new life, but as the bird flew off something was obviously wrong. "His first 100 feet was fairly strong, but then he began to turn to the right," Anne said. "We got one good view from directly behind him and noticed that his left wing had full motion, but his right wing was didn't have the same range. After about 150 feet, he just landed in the open meadow." As Anne went to track the bird, Craig rushed back to the car to grab a net. As Anne approached, the bird took off again, but this time landed in some thick woods about 60 feet away. "We had a hard time finding him in there, but we did find him. He was just standing on the ground and eyeing us," said Craig. "We made the determination that we needed to net him and bring him back to Liberty for more care."
Harrier non-release	Craig approached to within 10 feet of the bird when it flew off again - this time going about 40 feet. The next flight was about 20 feet, then a 10-foot flight and a 5-foot hop before Craig was able to net the harrier. "He definitely wasn't right," Anne said. "Craig and I had more endurance than this bird - and we aren't used to running around at high elevations." The harrier is now back at Liberty, sharing a 30-foot flight cage with a turkey vulture and waiting to move into a larger flight cage for more extensive rehab work. "It's very rare and very disappointing that we have to return a bird to Liberty," Anne said. "We're hoping he can gain enough strength over the next few months to be returned to the wild when other harriers are in central and southern Arizona. With luck, we'll be able to be a part of his release then."