On Valentine’s Day our region was buffeted with a brutal day-long winter storm, packing a punch, with high winds and rain mixed with snow. As the sun set, the temperatures dropped, and the wintry mix turned into a blinding snow storm with near whiteout conditions. For a brief time, there was even thunder and lightning!
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a wild bird caught in these extreme conditions? Thanks to Prescott Valley resident, Suzi Muhl-Kuhner, I have a heartwarming story to share about an encounter with a wild bird affected by the storm.
As Suzi was driving home from work that evening, she saw something on the side of the road. The light was growing dim, and the visibility was poor. Her first thought was that it was perhaps some trash, or maybe it was just some roadkill. She continued on home.
The next morning dawned sunny and bright. As Suzi was leaving her neighborhood to drive to work, she saw that same object. However, this time she could see it was a large bird—and it was alive. As a veterinarian tech at Mile High Animal Hospital, her love of animals kicked in and instinctively she went into “rescue” mode.
Buried in the snow, and nestled in amongst the grasses on the edge of the road, was a bird that was completely out of place—a bird that had no chance of survival unless someone took action. Suzi did just that. She stopped, and, retrieving a rug from the back of her truck, she threw the rug over the bird, scooped it up, and placed in the back of her truck.
When she got to work, the bird was inspected for injuries and by all appearances it was fine. The bird was certainly feisty and had a strong, powerful beak that was a formidable weapon, so the bird needed to be handled with great care. Using heavy gloves, they placed it in a sink before moving it into a pet carrier. At this point, a phone conversation occurred with an employee at Jay’s Bird Barn.
While the bird had been rescued, it was still in need of help in order to survive—it needed to be released at one of our local lakes. What was the bird? It was a common loon—which, ironically, is an uncommon bird in our area! Arrangements were made to drop the loon off at the Bird Barn and shortly thereafter, my store manager, Ryan, transported the loon to Willow Lake and released it.
My theory is that the loon was in the midst of migrating when it got caught in the intense storm. Between the wind and the snow, it was looking for a place to land to ride out the storm. The loon likely saw the wet roadway below, and from its perspective, the wet pavement looked like water. Therefore, it landed on the road only to discover it was asphalt, not water!
Without water, it had no way to take off. Instead of being a “sitting duck” it was a “sitting loon,” stranded. Thanks to Suzi, this was one lucky loon!
This evening is the monthly membership meeting of the Prescott Audubon Society chapter at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church. Matt Killeen, City of Prescott’s Environmental Coordinator will be discussing “Prescott’s Creeks and Lakes; Management Challenges and Opportunities for these Ribbons of Life”. Attend and earn ten points in the 2023 Birding Challenge!
On Tuesday, February 28th, the Prescott Camera Club presents a program titled “Birds, Birds, Birds”. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the Gateway Mall Community Room.
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of Jay’s Bird Barn, Arizona Field Optics, and Hallmark in
Prescott, Arizona. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. If you have
questions about wild birds that you would like discussed in future articles, email
him at eric@jaysbirdbarn.com.
On another note, if you have either children or grandchildren in the area, the Educational Expeditions Nature Camp organization is hosting a Spring Break Nature Camp at Goldwater Lake, during Spring Break, March 13th -17th. The emphasis for this nature camp includes adventure, outdoors skills, teamwork, art, environmental education, and lots of fun! The camp has a limited group size and is for children ages 5-10. The cost is $35 per day, and the camp runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To register, contact Dr. Mariana Altrichter at marianaalt@msn.com or text 928-277-5022.
