Oasis Diary - May 2002

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Spring arrives at The Oasis Sanctuary
By Sybil Erden, Director

May is a beautiful time of year in southeastern Arizona. Here at The Oasis Sanctuary the leaves on the almost one thousand pecan trees are filling out, lush and green. Migrating birds heading north again come and feast. Native birds who built nests in late winter and early spring share the bounty of The Oasis with their fledglings. Days are warm, nights are star filled and cool.

This year has been busy and bountiful for The Oasis.

• In January Tone Sanchez and Judy Leiken from TryTone Productions came out for a second visit and finished the wonderful video of The Oasis they had created for us.
• Soon after that a new employee, Amber Riordan, joined our staff.
• As winter came to a close we finished up work on the interior of the Hospital Trailer and completed the enclosure of the bird-barn’s staging area. This is the former back-porch where we wash dishes and prepare the food served to the birds.
• In March Doug and Phyllis Rhynd drove a 24-foot donated moving van out to the Sanctuary from Riverside California filled with much-needed equipment and supplies from our wish list that they had spent weeks tirelessly collecting for us.
• March also brought a visit from Sally Blanchard and other Oasis friends from the Companion Bird Quarterly and Tucson Avian Rescue & Adoption (TARA)
• At the beginning of April Andrea Gaines came to spend several days working with the birds. She will be moving out to The Oasis from Seattle to join us as our newest full-time, on-site employee,
• The following week, two of our wonderful supporters, Neal and Pat Rudikoff from New York, came out and spent a week-long “vacation” cleaning cages, scrubbing floors, hanging toys…and loving on the birds here at The Oasis.
• The day after the Rudikoff’s left, two Veterinarians from the University of Pennsylvania came out for a visit. The Oasis birds became part of a large study seeking more answers regarding feather picking and self-mutilation.

 
The next few months will bring a lot more excitement.

• Andrea will be moving to The Oasis in June.
• The Oasis will be a co-sponsor of the second Avian Welfare Roundtable to be held in Arlington Virginia June 6-8.
• We will be guests with MAARS and a local Humane group on a panel discussion on Avian Rescue hosted by the Minneapolis Companion Bird Club on June 19.
• July will bring Tone and Judy back for another visit.
• …and this summer and fall will bring back both the Rudikoff‘s and more Veterinarians from the University of Pennsylvania.

The 350 birds of The Oasis Sanctuary who call this beautiful piece of the planet home wish to thank you all for your on going support and caring.

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