The Osprey (written in the summer, 2007)

My heart rose excitedly and fell in sympathy at the same time, when I saw her. A beautiful osprey, one of my all-time favorite raptors. I was still fairly new to rehabbing, having only been doing it for a few months, and was excited to be closer to one that I ever imagined, yet sad to see her in a cage. At that moment, though, I felt determined to do everything I could to help her recover so she could be released back to where she belonged. I felt privileged to have Mike Furtado teach me how to take the temperature of, and give my first injection to, a bird of prey. I felt further privileged to help hold her head and open her beak to be fed. I was in awe that I was holding the head of a wild osprey in my hand. On another day I was lucky enough to hold her against my chest, while someone else stuffed small chunks of dripping fish pieces down her throat. It was heartening to watch her be creanced from the top of a nearby hill, and I was impressed with the dedication of the special people involved in it -- to be out in the hot 95-degree full sun, trudging up and down this hill over and over, patiently and determinedly retrieving her from the ground and carrying her back up the hill to fly her once again.

She captured my heart, and the hearts of everyone who worked with her. I knew that when it was time to say goodbye, my heart would soar with her in her freedom, and yet be broken to never see her again.

Epilogue: she was released the next year, at Clearlake, where she had been found.