Eagles Are Cool

We had some visitors this week. Kimmie and Emily were making their way from Vegas to Tuscon and stopped by to see us. I worked with Kimmie in Maryland and Emily is her sister.
They were in town for only a short while, so I had to pick some good stuff to see/do in that short time. They both wanted to see Liberty, so Wednesday I took them there and gave them the grand tour. I had made arrangements with Joe, the eagle handler, to do an eagle feeding for us on Thursday.

Thursday morning I took them up to the top of South Mountain to see the awesome view. It was freezing, and I was forced to bust out the winter coat.
Afterwards we made our way back to Liberty. I was excited for them to see this. Its a great way to see eagles up close and to learn a lot about them. Our eagle handlers, all volunteers, are so knowledgeable.

First up was Apache, a golden eagle. Peggy, one of the volunteers, is learning how to handle Apache, so she got to feed him today.


Apache is 21 years old. He was hit by a semi. Both wings were broken and he had a major concussion. One wing never healed right, so he lives with us.

Next up was Libby the bald eagle. Shes been around for a long time too. She was shot when she was a juvenile, and the end of her wing had to be amputated. She came from Minnesota. Libby can be quite the ornery bird, but today she was nice and calm. Since she was being so nice, Joe let us touch her. Cool! I get to touch some of our birds, but most wont have it. Its so awesome to be so close to such a big beautiful bird.

Kimmie giving Libby a belly rub

Last up was Phoenix. He is a young golden eagle. Hes my favorite of the eagles. For one, hes the nicest, and second, hes the only one I can go in the cage with. Phoenix has a condition similar to Asthma, so he gets winded easily. It makes it difficult for him to fly in the wild and hunt, so we keep him fat and happy.

Phoenix landing on the perch

Video of Phoenix flying

Joe decided that today he would fly Phoenix for us. It was awesome. Some of the volunteers recently built a new flight cage for us. So Phoenix has been practicing in there.
Joe places food at one perch and calls Phoenix down. Then he goes to the other end and does the same thing. It was awesome to watch. Since Phoenix is such a gentle bird Joe let us touch him too.

Emily giving Phoenix a belly rub

Even I did too!

I think working at Liberty has the best perks in the world. I might never quit if I can just spend my days petting birds and talking to ravens.

After a great afternoon of eagle feeding it was time for us to feed. What better place to feast than the Fry Bread House. I never tire of the wonderful fried goodness.

Thanks for coming to see me Kimmie and Emily, it was great to see you both. I loved showing you around Liberty. Next time you visit, we will release something.

-Nina