Photos: Local wildlife rehabbers dedicated to saving tiny lives, paying it forward
Janet Miller, Noreen Geyer-Kordesky, five other licensed wildlife rehabilitators and a slew of volunteers who work with them give their time to help injured and ailing wildlife, mostly birds, that need care before returning to the wild. Miller is 81, though, and she and her fellow rehabbers will host a meeting on Feb. 15 in the hopes of finding more interested in becoming licensed in the practice.
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Noreen Geyer-Kordosky of Tucson Mountain Hummingbird Rescue shows some of the hummingbirds she provides rehabilitation care for at her home in the Tucson Mountains on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Geyer-Kordosky is one of Pima County's wildlife rehabbers, among a corps of such volunteers who are becoming fewer as demand maintains. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
An injured hummingbird that was in Noreen Noreen Geyer-Kordesky's care.
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Janet Miller feeds a peregrine falcon re-nabbed from a broken wing at her home in Tucson, AZ. Miller is an 81-year-old woman who is a licensed rehabber, concentrating on birds and bunnies and other small critters. She is anxious to have people become licensed and be willing to commit to a species ... that way, when she goes, the care for the critters won't. She has birds - owls, hawks and several others - on her property. Even a blue heron, which she hand feeds.Photo taken Monday, January 27, 2014. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Founder Lisa Bates, left, and wildlife manager Beth Pynnonen, right, examine a javelina x-ray at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
An x-ray of a red-tailed hawk that had been shot with pellets hands for examination at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
A hummingbird sits in one of the screened-in rehabilitation enclosures that Noreen Geyer-Kordosky of Tucson Mountain Hummingbird Rescue uses at her home in the Tucson Mountains on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Geyer-Kordosky is one of Pima County's wildlife rehabbers, among a corps of such volunteers who are becoming fewer as demand maintains. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Founder Lisa Bates examines a javelina x-ray at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Janet Miller holds an elf owl at her home in Tucson, AZ. Photo taken Monday, January 27, 2014. Miller is an 81-year-old woman who is a licensed rehabber, concentrating on birds and bunnies and other small critters. She is anxious to have people become licensed and be willing to commit to a species ... that way, when she goes, the care for the critters won't. She has birds - owls, hawks and several others - on her property. Even a blue heron, which she hand feeds. . Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
A pair of rehabbing hummingbirds sit in netted habitats at the home of Noreen Geyer-Kordosky of Tucson Mountain Hummingbird Rescue in the Tucson Mountains on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Geyer-Kordosky is one of Pima County's wildlife rehabbers, among a corps of such volunteers who are becoming fewer as demand maintains. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Founder Lisa Bates, right, and wildlife manager Beth Pynnonen, left, examine a javelina x-ray at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
Noreen Geyer-Kordosky, right, of Tucson Mountain Hummingbird Rescue shows some of the hummingbirds she provides rehabilitation care for at her home in the Tucson Mountains on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Geyer-Kordosky is one of Pima County's wildlife rehabbers, among a corps of such volunteers who are becoming fewer as demand maintains. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
A look inside the triage room at the Sam Goldman Wildlife Hospital at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Wildlife rehabbers saving tiny lives
A front view of the nearly-completed Sam Goldman Wildlife Hospital at the Tucson Wildlife Center, 13275 E. Speedway Blvd., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. The center fields about 7,000 calls for service annually from Southern Arizona, founder Lisa Bates said. Staff and volunteers provide emergency response, while backyard rehabbers who have undergone basic training can provide aftercare for the animals at their homes. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star