2013 What A Year!!

   Hello from Wild At Heart.  I'm Juniper also known as America's Next Top Bird Model, cause I'm so cute. I am an American Kestrel Falcon and have been Wild At Hearts top Kestrel since 2010.  I arrived at Wild At Heart with a fracture to my wing, The wing healed but not well enough for me to fly (I hop really well though!)  I make my home in the hospital room at Wild At Heart, it's kind of cool because all the volunteers make sure to come in and say hi to me everyday.  Which is as it should be.  I also get to see all the birds come in and out of the hospital throughout the year, and what a year 2013 has been.  We have had over 468 birds of prey come in this year, some orphans, some injured and some that ran afoul of environmental issues.  Let me introduce you to a few of my friends from 2013.
In June of this year I met a very brave little owl.  We named him Survivor.  Survivor and his mom came to us from Goodyear.  They were picked up by volunteer Michael Artemis.  Survivor and his mom were found in the street, where they had their burrow.  Survivor just narrowly missed being hit by a car, unfortunately his mom wasn't as lucky.  His mom had passed on by the time Michael was able to rush them to us but Survivor stayed strong and wouldn't give up.  He was later moved out to an aviary where he has made new friends and will be released with them in the spring into a new habitat.
Park and Ride (what a name I know, the big people around here aren't very good at this whole naming thing), is a Red Tailed Hawk that came to us from the Park and Ride facility on Happy Valley Road.  He was found hopping around on the cars, too young to fly yet, and brought into Wild At Heart.  He was released back into the wild earlier this year.
You met my friend Mags in the last blog.  He has officially been requested from U.S. Fish and Wildlife as an educational bird for Wild At Heart.  He's a little strange, but a good soul and will do a great job of showing people it's ok to be special. I met a lot of unusual friends this year that we don't often see at Wild At Heart.  I met Zona the Zone Tailed Hawk who came to us with an eye injury and a broken leg.  Poor Zona he was in the hospital forever with pins in his leg and three surgeries on his eye.  He is now living outside in an aviary and has been requested from U.S. Fish and Wildlife as an educational bird.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Mandela a Ferruginous Hawk who came in with two gunshot wounds one to his leg and one to his wing.  He has been seen by our fabulous vet Dr. Soltero at Saguaro Veterinary Clinic and is healing well in the hospital.  Tundra came in just a few days after Mandela.  He is a gorgeous Tundra Peregrine (of course he's not as good looking as me!)  He came in with a fracture to his wing which is healing nicely.  Tundra Peregrines are very rare in Arizona and we are excited to have him here while he heals.
I'm lucky (so they tell me) to have another Kestrel Falcon in the hospital with me right now.  His curtain on his hospital kennel is opened everyday so he can see outside the window.  His name is Weebles.  Weebles has a little bit of a wobble (he tends to fall over backward easily) so he is in the hospital while we get this figured out.
One of the best friends I made this year was a little Elf Owl, many of you know him as the former author of this blog.  Widget unfortunately passed away in November of this year due to an unknown genetic problem.  He was a little owl that made a big impact on everyone he met (even me).  We all still miss him everyday, but unfortunately we can't save everyone even though we try our very best.
What a year!  2013 has been an exciting year with many successes and some losses, although we try our best for the raptors that come in here everyday and will continue to do so in the future.  Caring for all of my friends is no laughing matter, it takes time, love, commitment and of course money (you wouldn't believe what a bag of mice is going for these days!)  This job is too big for one little Kestrel and our volunteer big people, we can't do this without your help.  To help all of us here at Wild At Heart, donations can be made through http://www.razoo.com/story/Wild-At-Heart.  

 

Mags' Story (and Some Note-Worthy Tidbits!)

Hey everyone! Widget here! But it's only me for a minute. Today I'm turning the blog over to a good friend of mine. I'm letting her take the keyboard over for a bit to tell you her story. And, if she does a good enough job and the giant humans like her work, maybe she'll be back to post again someday! Enjoy a few words from my awesome friend Mags!  

Hey guys! My name is Mags and I'm a Great Horned Owl in residence here at Wild At Heart. I've called this place home since March 29th of this year. I was only three weeks old when I got here.

This is going to sound a bit weird, but there's not much I can do about it. My friend, Widget, refers to me as a "she" up there. But the giant humans at Wild At Heart actually don't know, yet, if I'm male or female. Why not? Well, that's a really good question. I've got some identity issues starting to arise so I hope they figure it out soon!

Anyways, like I said before, I was three weeks old when I came to Wild At Heart. I was brought in with severe head wounds from falling out of my nest. And I didn't just fall once. I fell multiple times. How did I keep falling? Different big people kept putting me back in my nest every time. They kept putting me back in the nest until my face was almost unrecognizable...

That's when someone decided it was time to bring me in to Wild At Heart. When I came in, both my eyes were swollen and filled with maggots. There was also a massive, gaping hole in my head. Of course this couldn't go untreated and I was absolutely silent while Sam (one of the giant humans in charge) removed hundreds of maggots from my eye sockets.

Once the yucky maggots were removed, I visited two wonderful veterinarians in the area. Dr. Ingram of All Creatures Animal Clinic in Phoenix was able to close up the top of my head so it wasn't open for the world to see. It's all healed up now! Dr. Urbanz of Eye Care for Animals in Scottsdale took care of my eyes. Even with continuous care for my eyes, I am still blind in my right eye and only partially sighted in my left eye.

I currently live in the Hospital room at Wild At Heart with my stepsister, Juniper (she's an American Kestrel). We love spending our time interacting with the volunteers and visitors that float in and out throughout the day.

Remember how I said earlier that I was totally silent while Sam pulled the maggots out? Well, the reality is I'm still not quite sure how to "hoot" like the other owls. But I still love to carry on long conversations with the volunteers that come to visit me. An owl's got to do something to pass the time!

Wild At Heart will be my forever home. I'm proud to call it my forever home, though, because it provides me with amazing opportunities. I get to be one of their educational birds and help the staff and volunteers teach children and adults everywhere that just because you're a little different doesn't mean you aren't special! The giant humans hope that one day I'll be able to leave the Hospital room and join the rest of their Great Horned Owls in the aviaries!

Now that I've told you my story, I want to give you a few quick tidbits on the place I call home. Remember, I have to do a good job on this so I get to write to all of you again!

First off, Wild At Heart recently closed their Owls and Hawks Story Contest! They had 51 entries and the winner will be announced later this week. That's a lot of stories the judges have to read and we have to give them time to get through them all!

"Holidays are for the Birds" is the theme for the end of year fundraising campaign beginning November 1st. Let's make this a jolly good holiday season for those of us here at Wild At Heart so we can take flight into the New Year!

Those who wish to donate sooner may do so through PayPal, Razoo, or by sponsoring a block on the Wild At Heart Wall. This is a seriously cool option, guys. Check it out. It's a Virtual Supporter Wall online (available through the Wild At Heart Facebook Page). You select a block (hover over them to see the price), upload a picture (of yourself, kids, pets, etc...), type in your name and fill in the rest of the information. When you're done click the "Get This Square" button and complete your purchase information. Then that's it! Your picture is on the Wild At Heart Wall and you've helped to support the giant humans who care for the amazing birds in our facility! These blocks are fantastic gifts for birthdays and the upcoming holidays. If you all chip in to fill the entire Wall you would have raised over $40,000 for Wild At Heart. That's a huge goal, but we have every confidence that you can help us out!

You can also make donations by completing all of your internet searches through a search engine called Goodsearch. This search engine donates money for every search made using their site. They also have other ways to earn money for Wild At Heart through video games and watching videos. Make sure you check out the Goodshop, too, which partners with online retailers to provide funds to organizations!

And there you have it, everyone. My story, the news about Wild At Heart and some awesome ways to help these giant humans continue their very important work with the Arizona native birds!

Give a Hoot and a Holler! We're Calling You!

Season of Giving

Wild At Heart is getting busy, busy, busy! With the holidays right around the corner, we know you are busy, too, but we are hoping that you still remember the reason for the season.

Our facility depends on volunteers and a lot of donations. And now is the time to set up your workplace giving, Combined Federal Campaign, or one time (or more) donations. The giant humans at Wild At Heart would be thrilled if you remembered us and selected us as a recipient for your donation. Honestly, it would mean the world to all of us here and would really go a long ways towards helping the big people continue their work caring for me and my friends.

Story Contest

Wild At Heart is sponsoring their first story contest! Students in grades 4-8 in the Cave Creek, Desert Hills, Anthem area have been invited to participate in a story writing contest. The submission can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry and must feature an Arizona bird of prey. Submissions should be no longer than 500 words and will be judged by Wild At Heart staff members for creativity, use of language and relevance to the theme. Stories should be submitted through the Wild At Heart Facebook Page.

The winner (yay!) of this contest will win a 30-45 minute presentation from Wild At Heart for his/her class. This presentation will include live raptors. The winner will also earn a certificate or recognition and a Wild At Heart T-Shirt.

The contest begins on October 1st and ends on October 19th.

Wild At Heart & the World Wide Web

We're getting fancy over here guys! Wild At Heart is diving into the craziness that is the World Wide Web. That's right, we're learning all about Social Media around here and working hard to understand so we can get the word out about all of the amazing work that goes on at our facility! Wanna help us out? You can start by following this blog, right here! Add us to your favorites and remember to check back with us for updates.

Our Facebook page is still up and running and a great way to keep track of the comings and goings and happenings at Wild At Heart. You can follow us on Facebook by clicking HERE. Bob (giant human in charge) recently decided to challenge us to reach 1,000 "likes" on Facebook by the end of the year, so be sure to spread the word to all of your friends!

Wild At Heart recently joined Twitter. We're still new to the whole idea, so be patient with us- we ARE figuring it out, I promise! You can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE.

And, of course, you can still find us at our original website. That's where you'll find all the information you could ever hope to know about our facility. Seriously, names, addresses, phone numbers and the whole nine yards is up there. Haven't these people heard of personal security on the internet!? Guess not.... Boy have they got a lot to learn... You can check out our website by clicking HERE.

 

The Latest at Wild At Heart

Hey guys! It's been a really long time since I last wrote and there's a crazy number of things I need to update you on. No joke, the giant humans have been bugging me to get this going for a while. Why hasn't it happened? Well, I'm little. And you can only expect so much of little me. And I'm cute, so I get away with it pretty easily!

Pig Rescue

Yup, you read that right. If you haven't read about it yet, fly on over and read all about our Great Pig Rescue! Then fly back over here to read the news on Lulu (she's the pig we rescued a few weeks ago).

Sam, one of the giant humans in charge, got an email from Lulu's "mom" not too long ago and she wants me to share some of her story with you all. Lulu came to a family who had never before considered having a pet because of allergies. But when a friend came by with their pet pig, they learned that pigs have hair and are, therefore, hypoallergenic. Basically there's no sneezing, coughing or watery eyes attached to loving a pig. Win! So after a considerable amount of begging and pleading by his children, Lulu's "dad" broke down and got Lulu for "mom" as a present about two years ago. Yay for an adorable little piggy!

Being a social animal, Lulu just LOVES to be around people. So, naturally, one of her favorite places to go is the park! She loves to run with the people and has even plucked up the courage to sort of "bark" when she's heavily involved in playing with the humans. Since being lost, and then found and returned home, Lulu has been thoroughly loved and hugged by her human family. And, being part of the family, she's even been able to join them for a treat! Apparently she is rather fond of vanilla ice cream!

Bird Release

Wild At Heart is pleased to announce that they have had many, many bird releases happening lately! They've recently released four Kestrels near the Dixileta and 62nd street intersection by volunteer Yvette's residence. They've also released more than 20 Barn Owls northeast of Wickenburg, and three Great Horned Owls were released in the Seven Springs area, which is an hour north of Cave Creek.

Around the Aviaries

I've mentioned before that we have some seriously awesome volunteers. One of them is Yvette Molina. She was helping out around the aviaries not too long ago, cleaning and just basically being awesome when one of my friends decided to mess with her. Tafi (a Harris Hawk foster parent) decided she wanted Yvette's hat and stole it right off her head! And then she kept it away from Yvette for ten minutes before she decided she was bored and gave it back! Silly bird...

Cowboy Muri and Bob

Cowboy Muri, in his red bandana (I'm jealous...), got to take a field trip! Cowboy Muri is a Western Screech owl and he and Bob were featured presenters at the last Cave Creek town council meeting. This was a big meeting. Cave Creek challenged Scottsdale at this meeting for the title of the Wests most Western Town! It was so big that Bob was even quoted in the Foothills Focus and the NY Times!

Bird Handling Class

Wild At Heart hosted a bird handling and capture class for Peoria Animal Control and two of our rescue and transport volunteers. Volunteers and animal control officers learned how to safely capture and handle an injured raptor.  If you look closely in the upper right hand corner of the second picture you will see that Mags (one of our Great Horned Owls) was very interested in learning too!

Desert Foothills Key Club

The students of the Desert Foothills Key Club came to Wild At Heart to learn about the raptors and lend a helping hand. "Desert Foothills Key Club is a student led organization which provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character, and develop leadership." Basically it's a group of kids doing awesome things in the community because they want to live in an awesome place! And the kids? Well, they're awesome!

And there you have it. The big happenings here at Wild At Heart! Stay classy my bird-friendly friends and keep your eye out for my fellow flying friends!

The Great Pig Rescue! Wait. What??

Alright, alright. We've got a different sort of rescue to talk about today. And let me tell you, it's not anything like we usually deal with around here...   First things first. Wild At Heart is a bird rescue. Got it? Bird. Rescue. We have small birds and large birds and all sizes in between. But we do birds.   Until now.   Mr. Bob (giant human in charge #1) was away the other day. He'd been sent on an errand. The facility was in need of more supplies so the boss man went out to pick them all up. Everything was well and good here, so no one thought anything of it. It's not like it was the first time he'd been away, so who would have thought it would be an issue? No one. Not me. And especially not Sam (giant human in charge #2).   While Bob is away, though, (an hour and a half away, I might add!) Sam gets an unusual call. For some reason no one else would answer the phones when they were called except Wild At Heart. Go Sam!   Anyways. Sam got a call from a frantic human. There was a pot-bellied pig. On the side of a very busy road. Near a community center. In an area where the coyotes live. Oh boy. What do we do?   Well, being the animal lovers we are around here, of course Sam hopped on the phone and begun hunting down someone to go hunt down the pig. Bob was still far away. Yvette, Wendy and Donny were unavailable. Luckily she was able to get in touch with a couple of awesome volunteers, Rachelle and Ian. They happen to live in the area where the poor pig was last seen and went out in search of it.   Well, they found it. But quickly realized that the small kennel they had brought with them was too small. Who would have thought that it would be too small? Pot-bellied pigs are supposed to be little, right?   They gave Bob a call. He'd made it back into town and immediately set out with his large kennel. Little did they know that his large kennel still wouldn't be large enough for this pig. Again, aren't pot-bellied pigs supposed to be little!?   After a few minutes of scrambling and a desperate call to Sam asking what they should do, they found a solution. What was it? A comforter. And some fruits and vegetables. How did it work? They laid out the comforter, placed the food in the middle of it and when the pig went after the food, they hoisted her up into the backseat of Bob's truck.

Now what? Sam suggested that Bob take the traumatized pig to a friends nearby barn. Once they made it to Tavia's barn, though, the pig wouldn't move. She was comfortable. Her little cave in Mr. Bob's truck was just the spot for her. She was perfectly content to just sit in the backseat of the truck all day long. But that just wouldn't work.

They tried everything they could. They made a sort of ramp out of straw bales for the pig to walk down. They tried coaxing the pig out of the truck with more food. But she just wouldn't budge. That was her spot and she wasn't giving it up. Mr. Bob had had enough at that point and finally goosed the pig! Up and out she went!   A few hours later Sam received a call at Wild At Heart. The caller was the pig's owners and they were anxious to be re-united with their baby. A meeting was arranged at Tavia's barn and Lulu was sent happily on her way with her family. They were so thankful to Wild At Heart for helping even though it was an odd rescue for our people.

Unfortunately for Bob and Sam, the day wasn't over yet. You see, most of the residents at Wild At Heart are owls. Which means we are mostly awake at night. So anything that needs to be done with us usually has to be done after dark. What does that mean? Some really long nights for Sam and Bob. They hardly ever get to bed before 2am, and that night was no different. Except that they got a call at 3:30am for a barn owl that had been hit by a car. Wild At Heart is the only rescue to answer the phone in person at any hour, day or night.   So off Bob went to rescue the poor barn owl. He returned around 7:45 that morning and wrapped the fractured wing.   Most people would have gone straight to bed after that. But not Bob. He and Sam were up and at it for a full day of work!   I just love those giant humans and their dedication to us!  

Widget's Tidbits(2): On Burrowing Owls

Widget here again! It's been a while since I wrote my introduction and I thought it was time to check in with you again. Today I've got some nifty information for you about some of my friends.   These friends are bigger than me, though not quite as big as some of my other friends, but size doesn't matter. I love these guys and they're pretty awesome birds if you ask me.   So what are these friends of mine? They're Burrowing Owls. Most of us live up in the treetops, but these guys live in the ground. They are born and raised underground and live their entire lives out of little burrows. They typically build their homes in dens that have been vacated by other animals or existing spaces in the earth, including cracks under sidewalks or canal berms.   The burrowing owls aren't that much bigger than me. I stand a little over 4 inches tall, and burrowing owls only get to be about 11 inches tall. So maybe they're actually a lot bigger than me, but it's a manageable difference.   Burrowing Owls were featured in the 2006 film Hoot. The movie is about a boy who moves with his family and discovers a population of burrowing owls. He then makes it his mission to protect the threatened owls and keep them safe in their habitat. You should check it out! If you get a chance take a look at the Special Features, you'll see the artificial habitats created by Wild At Heart and a few of the owls. We're famous!  

  I've been making a number of new friends here at Wild At Heart, in the last few days. You see, a few hours away from Wild At Heart is a town called Yuma. Right now there's a lot of construction going on in Yuma and it's putting my friends in danger. How? Their homes are smack dab in the middle of where the human giants want to expand their hospital. There's no arguing with the human giants so my friends have to move.  

  Bob (one of the big people who runs my home) has been spending a lot of time down in Yuma helping to relocate my Burrowing Owl friends. Bob brought back 22 new friends from Yuma who will be staying the winter with us here at Wild At Heart. It takes a minimum of 60 days for my friends to break their bond with the old home.  Winter will be just around the corner by that time and all of our friends out in the wild will be migrating to Mexico. Most of my new friends are too young to make that journey right now.  They will get to stay and hang out here at Wild At Heart until spring. When spring and our wild friends return to Arizona, they will be released into the artificial habitats that have been built around the state (over 6000 burrows so far - Yippee!).   

  This isn't the first time Bob has been asked to help out with this species of owls. Earlier this year there was a pair of burrowing owls found on the site of the new performing arts center at Estrella Mountain Community College, and he was contacted to help relocate them. The college didn't want to lose their owls so they built new habitats for them right on the college campus. It was such a big deal, and Bob was so awesome, that they even wrote an article about the experience! You can read the article here.  

  I think it's pretty cool that Bob is willing to help (and didn't let our few minutes of fame go to his head) even when it means he has to drive long distances. It says a lot about how much his work at Wild At Heart means to him. And I can tell you from personal experience that his dedication really means a lot to those of us who call this place our home.   Anyways, back to the burrowing owls. Bob is continuing to help down in Yuma, bringing back new friends and making sure that all of the owls are relocated before the construction begins. He won't rest until he is certain they are all safe! This year we had a family of baby burrowing owls come in. They were orphaned, after their mom got hit by a car, and brought to Wild At Heart to have a chance at life.  

 

Wild At Heart is looking forward to the successful relocation and release of these burrowing owls into artificial habitats that have been constructed specifically for these small, special birds. They have had success in the past, especially with an owl named Lorcan. Lorcan came to Wild At Heart from South Dakota. He wasn't in good shape when he was found, but the people at Wild At Heart were able to get him back on track and looking good as new! After being transported to Wild At Heart last November, Lorcan spent four months here before he was released into his new home.

 

 

If you'd like to read more about Lorcan, you can check out his Photo Album on Facebook.

Also, if you'd like to learn more about the relocation of the burrowing owls in Yuma, you can read this article from the Yuma Sun.

For more information about the burrowing owls project at Wild At Heart, click here.

 

Thanks for stopping in to read about my friends here! Check back soon for more of Widget's Tidbits, where everything is coming to you straight from the beak!

 

Widget's Tidbits [1]

Hi guys! Widget here!

I'm the little Elf Owl that's been supervising the humans over at Wild At Heart! Maybe you don't think that's very special, but I sure do.

You see, this place is helping me. So I'm writing this blog as a way to help them. Basically, I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the awesome people here who decided my life was worth saving and protecting here in Arizona. You've heard the saying "I owe you my life"? Well, I really do owe my life to these giants who took me in. I was only about ten days old when I was brought to Wild At Heart, and my eyes weren't even open yet. Can you imagine being moved

Wild At Heart is a rescue and rehabilitation facility for a variety of raptor birds in Arizona. They take in different raptors, help them grow and learn to live in the wild and then release them when they are good and ready. No bird is released too soon, unable to fend for themselves, and no bird is kept too long, learning to depend on humans for food and survival. Their goal is to get the birds healthy and teach them how to survive on their own.

Now let's talk about me, Widget. Like I said before, I'm an Elf Owl. What does that mean? Well, it means I'm really small. We're talking 4.5 inches tall, and I only weigh 1.75 ounces. Small, right? You could almost stick me in an envelope and pop me in the mail! Sometimes it's hard to hang around with the bigger raptors, but I think I hold my own pretty well. And I must be doing something right to be allowed on the computer.

The giants who work here are great! Most humans get all squirmy when they see what I eat, but not these guys. They'll pick at worms and crickets all day just for me! Well, not just for me, but you know what I mean. Some of them are really brave, too, and they chop up the frozen mice and rats for my bigger friends to eat.

You see, Wild At Heart has many different kinds of raptors. This place is home to owls, hawks and falcons, all native to Arizona. These birds are brought in from all over the area. People find my friends on the side of the road and bring them in, and others are found injured in backyards. A few of my little friends were too young to fly before they were brought in. We have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they develop alright and that they will be safe when they are released into the wild.

As of right now, Wild At Heart is home to 327 raptors. And, from time to time, we have other birds pass through to claim temporary asylum from the craziness of the big world we live in. All of our friends are native to the area and I can't blame them if they just need a break for a little while. Don't we all just need a break sometimes?

Check back soon for more updates from Wild At Heart here on Widget's Tidbits- where everything is Straight From the Beak!