Of a Feather

by Dayna Lorentz

  “I’m fine,” I say, eyes still locked on the gray stretch of sky that Rufus and the other owl disappeared into. “I’m perfect.”

  Mom grabs my shoulders, checks me for injury before saying, “What was that?”

  A smile cracks across my face and this giggling comes out from between my lips. “That,” I say, “was Rufus.”

  “Your owl? The one you released months ago? Honey, I don’t think—”

  I shake my head. “It was him.”

  “That was Rufus?” Jamie asks. “The Rufus?”

  “Yeah,” I say, voice all dreamy.

  He’s alive. He’s surviving. He made it. And I had something to do with that.

  “He looked good,” Jaxon says.

  “He did,” I reply.

  My mom still looks like she might faint.

  “They’ve got hot chocolate in the education center,” Jaxon’s mom says. “I think we all need some hot chocolate after that excitement.”

  “With extra whipped cream,” I add.

  Mom looks at me, shakes her head, and laughs a little. “With lots of extra whipped cream.”

  And we all go, arm in arm like this weird little family, toward the bright lights of the café and the promise of something sweet.

  A Note From the Author

  Each story I write starts from an idea or two that hum with possibility. In the case of Rufus and Reenie’s story, it began with my daughter and her love of owls. The more we learned together about owls, and visited captive owls, and watched YouTube videos about owls, the more I fell in love with these strange and silent night dwellers. Around the same time, I also happened to read a book about falconry, H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which led me to The Once and Future King by T. H. White, both of which got me excited about writing a story with falconry in it. But these two ideas seemed to be singing different tunes, until I brought them together with my work in the foster care system.

  When I was a child, I had no idea what happened to children who couldn’t live with their families or who didn’t have families. I was privileged enough that this didn’t even seem like something that happened in the present day; it was an idea reserved for The Secret Garden or Oliver Twist. After college, I worked for a year in the residential treatment center of a foster agency in New York and learned that I was very much mistaken. Based on the most recent numbers I have, there are 442,995 children in foster care in the United States, 1,864 of whom are in Vermont. I now work in the family courts here in Vermont and see these families’ stories every day.

  But this is merely how Rufus and Reenie’s story got its start; to turn these ideas into a novel, I had to do research—a lot of research! Researching is not just about hunting down information in books or on the Internet. For this book, in addition to going to bird rehabilitation facilities and talking to rehabilitators about their work (so interesting!) and seeking out live owls both in captivity and online through nest cameras and other videos (so cute!), I took a falconry lesson so that I could experience what the sport was like firsthand.

  Even something as mundane as a chickadee on my bird feeder sets me smiling, so imagine the Fourth of July fireworks going on inside my chest when the falconer held his fist beside mine and a Harris’s hawk named Monty hopped onto my glove mere inches from my face. At first, I was afraid to even look at him—he was so fierce with his sharp eyes and even sharper talons. But Monty was a friendly guy, as was my instructor, and we got to flying.

  It amazed me how I could barely feel Monty’s physical weight on my arm and yet was overwhelmed by his physical presence on my glove. Monty is much lighter than a great horned owl like Rufus would be—Monty’s flying weight is around 1.5 pounds, and a great horned owl weighs around 3 pounds. Even so, being this close to a real hawk felt like a gravitational force on par with a small planet; I can only imagine what having a big bird like Rufus that close would be like. When Monty glided over the grass and then swooped up to my fist, I was nearly blown over by the magic of his wings beating and how he could land on my glove with such precision, his talons positioning him perfectly to gobble down his tidbit of meat.

  As this was a lesson, we weren’t hunting, but even if we had been, I was struck by how little my desires played into Monty’s behavior. Monty flew where he wanted to fly: if I cast him off toward a tree, he might fly there; or he might change course and disappear among the reeds fringing a pond in search of frogs. He was not like a trained dog, loping happily beside me, and I didn’t feel as though he was interested in my affection or cared to please me. Rather, he looked at me as an equal, as if I was expected to pull my weight on this outing and I should not take his presence for granted. This experience helped me in thinking not only about how falconry fit into the book, but how it related to both Rufus and Reenie and what it meant for them together.

  Even this is just a tiny fragment of all the information and experiences I dug into to help craft this story. For more information about falconry and bird rehabilitation, please enjoy the following conversations with the experts who helped me!

  Falconry Q&A

  1. What is falconry? Why would someone take up falconry?

  Falconry is defined as “hunting wild game with a trained raptor.” As well as training and hunting, a falconer spends a great deal of time caring for the bird and its needs to ensure that it is healthy and fulfilled. Falconers share a love of birds of prey and nature; the sport brings with it the opportunity to be a part of both.

  2. What birds are used for falconry? How many birds can a falconer have?

  Despite the name “falconry,” a variety of birds in the falcon, hawk, and eagle families can be used in the sport (examples are the golden eagle, the goshawk, and the peregrine falcon).

  Falconers are limited by law as to how many birds they may have, but because it’s such a time-consuming pursuit, most work with just one.

  3. What is a passage hawk? What is a captive-bred bird? What is an imprinted bird?

  A passage hawk is a raptor that is trapped from the wild at an immature age (younger than a year). A captive-bred hawk is one that is bred in captivity by a licensed breeder. An imprinted bird is one that is reared by a falconer from a very early age. It will then “imprint” upon (or bond with) the falconer; when done properly, this will make the bird much more at ease around people.

  4. Is trapping bad for wild bird populations? Does trapping a wild bird hurt the bird? Can the birds ever be let back into the wild?

  Falconers are legally permitted to trap only bird species that are plentiful. The process does not harm birds in any way.

  Trapping has no impact on wild hawk populations. Studies show that 70 percent of wild hawks die before the end of their first winter, mostly from starvation due to the fact that they have insufficient skills to fend for themselves. A falconer will often choose to release a hawk back into the wild after the winter hunting season has ended. When released, the well-fed and healthy hawk will revert to its wild condition. Plus, it now has more hunting experience than before it was trapped.

  5. How long does it take to train a bird for falconry?

  The early training to the point where the bird can be flown completely “free” (untethered) varies depending upon the species, the falconer’s experience, and the hawk’s temperament. Smaller species tend to take less time than the larger ones. A hawk such as the red-tailed hawk can be flying free in fewer than two weeks.

  6. Do falconers hunt all year round or only during certain times of the year? Where do the birds live when they’re not hunting? Do the birds get bored sitting on their perches?

  Falconers have hunting seasons just as other hunters do. These are mostly between the fall and spring; the hawks are not worked over the summer. During summertime, they are placed in their mews and are not kept in hunting condition. This means they are very content sitting for long periods (just as a hawk with a full belly would be in the wild).

  7. Does one need a license from the state to become a falconer? How l
ong does it take to train to be a falconer?

  Because raptors are so highly protected, a falconer must first become licensed to possess a bird. Age limits and other specifics vary from state to state. There is an exam, a hunters’ safety course, an equipment and housing check by the game warden, and then a minimum two-year apprenticeship. The apprenticeship is overseen by an experienced falconer and involves trapping, training, and hunting a wild passage hawk.

  Bird Rehabilitation Q&A

  1. What is bird rehabilitation? What does a bird rehabilitator do?

  Bird rehab is the process of helping a wild bird recover from its injuries and releasing it back to the wild. A rehabilitator is someone who has the permits and training required to rehabilitate wild birds.

  2. What kind of training does a bird rehabilitator need? Can I rehabilitate a bird if I find one that’s sick or injured?

  Bird rehabilitators are trained in various ways, from taking online courses to attending in-person conferences. An individual can rehabilitate birds if he or she has the proper knowledge and is licensed. Never try to rehabilitate a bird on your own. Always contact a licensed bird rehabilitator or your state’s game warden if you find a sick or injured bird. Many baby birds found outside their nests don’t need any help. Parent birds will feed their babies when they start exploring outside the nest or even if they fall out of the nest before they’re ready to be completely independent. Always leave a baby bird who has feathers alone until you hear from the game warden or bird rehabber that it needs help; they can advise you on what to do next.

  3. How many sick and injured birds do you see per year? Do rehabilitators see more at certain times of the year? Different kinds of birds at different times?

  The number of birds a rehabber admits varies from year to year depending on the facilities and resources available to them. Admissions peak during times of migration and breeding, which varies with different species but generally is spring and fall. All types of birds are admitted throughout the year.

  4. What is the cause of most bird injuries?

  Vehicle collisions.

  5. How do you treat bird injuries? Can a bird rehabilitator treat every injury, or do some birds need help from other people?

  Different types of injuries require different treatment. There are some injuries that rehabbers cannot treat, such as traumatic amputations, loss of vision or hearing, and some viral diseases. The number one need for a rehabber is medical support from a veterinarian.

  6. Can you release every bird back to the wild? Why do some birds get chosen to be “ambassadors” like Rufus’s mom?

  In a perfect world, all injured birds would be healed and sent back into the wild, in the safest area closest to where they were found, just as Reenie did with Rufus. Unfortunately, this is not possible for all birds, and some may have to be euthanized because of the extent of their injuries. Sometimes a bird may be able to be rehabilitated to the extent where it no longer lives in pain and can live a healthy, comfortable life with a little help. For example, certain wing breaks may heal but leave the bird unable to fly swiftly and silently enough to hunt efficiently. Or a bird could lose vision in one eye and hearing in one ear after being hit by a car. This bird can continue to live, but it also may have a hard time hunting for itself with limited vision and hearing.

  With proper permits, however, the birds can become education ambassadors for their wild-living counterparts. These birds receive food delivered to their aviary, protection from predators, and free health care. In order to be considered for an ambassador program, there would need to be physical space for the bird, a need for that particular type of bird in an education collection (some species are prevalent, and since most facilities already have one or more of those more common species in their collection, a rarer bird may have an easier time being placed), and an educator with time to train and present the bird for programming.

  7. What can I do to make my world safer for birds?

  Here are a few simple things:

  Don’t throw apple cores or other food out of car windows. The food attracts rodents, who attract raptors, who then get hit by cars.

  Don’t leave sports nets hanging or standing upright overnight because owls can get caught in them. The same goes for fake spider webs used for decoration around Halloween.

  Don’t use rat poison. Raptors eat rodents, and a poisoned rodent can poison the raptor who eats it. Instead, let the raptors control the rodent population naturally.

  Thank you to Rob Waite of the Green Mountain Falconry School, greenmountainfalconryschool.com, who gave me the amazing experience of having a hawk fly to my fist, and to Craig Newman and Cat Wright Parrish of Outreach for Earth Stewardship, ofesvt.org, who gave me the inside scoop on what it takes to help our raptor friends when they need it most.

  If you’d like to learn more about owls, check out the Owl Pages at owlpages.com. I also enjoyed reading Leigh Calvez’s The Hidden Lives of Owls, or for younger readers, Alice Calaprice’s adaptation of Bernd Heinrich’s An Owl in the House: A Naturalist’s Diary and Jean Craighead George’s There’s an Owl in the Shower. If you’re interested in bird rehabilitation, please contact a local wildlife rehabilitator or natural science center. If you’re in Vermont, head to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, vinsweb.org, or meet the avian ambassadors from Outreach for Earth Stewardship at Shelburne Farms, shelburnefarms.org. If you’d like to learn more about falconry, check out the Modern Apprentice at themodernapprentice.com. You can also contact your state’s wildlife agency.

  Glossary

  Anklet—a little strip of leather that is wrapped around each of the bird’s legs like a tight-fitting bracelet. The jesses are attached to the anklets.

  Apex predator—a predator at the top of a food chain, with no natural predators.

  Aviary—the place where a bird lives; usually a partially enclosed house with barred or mesh windows or walls. This house is also called a mews.

  Bal-chatri trap—a safe trap used by falconers to catch wild birds. Imagine an upside-down bowl made of metal mesh. Inside the bowl, there’s a live mouse. When the hawk flies down, thinking it’s in for an easy meal, it feels something on its foot. This is because the upward-facing part of the bowl is covered with little see-through loops that slip onto the bird’s toes and tighten, holding the bird to the bowl. When the bird realizes this and tries to fly away, it’s held down by the weights along the edge of the bowl.

  Bating—an occurrence when the hawk (or owl!) tries to fly off its perch but is held back by a restraint and ends up hanging upside down.

  Cast off—the motion that the falconer has to use when a bird is on the falconer’s fist in order to throw or push the bird into the air to encourage it to take flight.

  Casting—when a bird coughs up (casts) a pellet (also called a casting). This process is also called pelleting. The pellet is a lump made up of all the bits of food that the bird couldn’t digest. For Rufus, this would be a tightly packed lump of fur and bones, slightly smaller than your fist.

  Creance—a long, lightweight string tied to the hawk’s jesses. A creance serves the same purpose as a dog’s leash: it allows the falconer to fly a hawk without having to worry that the hawk is going to fly away forever.

  Crop—the pouch along a hawk’s throat where food is stored and digestion begins. Owls do not have a crop.

  Crown—the top of a bird’s head. Red can lift the feathers of her crown, creating a kind of frill that looks like . . . well, a crown!

  Falconry—the sport of hunting wild game with a trained raptor.

  Fledged—when a young bird whose wing feathers have developed enough for flight leaves the nest to start life on its own.

  Flying weight—the ideal weight for a bird flown for falconry. Think of this the way you’d think of the weight athletes try to maintain to keep themselves at the top of their game.

  Gauntlet—a glove made of thick leather worn by falconers, usually on their less dominant hand, that protects th
em from a raptor’s sharp talons.

  Gizzard—a specialized part of a bird’s stomach with thick, muscular walls used for grinding up food.

  Hood—a little leather hat placed on a trained bird’s head. The hood limits the amount of sensory information coming at the bird and helps to keep it calm when driving in a car, for example.

  Imprinted—when a bird has been raised by humans and not by other raptors. Imprinted birds will often identify with their humans more than with other raptors.

  Jesses—a narrow strip of leather, with a knot at one end, that fits through a hole in the anklet and allows falconers to hold on to their birds.

  Manning—the process of getting a wild hawk used to the human world so that it can be used for falconry. The hawk needs not only to become comfortable with its partner but also to get used to that person’s house, car, and even family, friends, and pets.

  Mantle—the feathers on a bird’s back right at the start of the wings. This term can also be a verb; raptors mantle over their prey, which means that they stand over it with a hunched back and neck and with their wings spread wide to protect their meal from being stolen.

  Mews—see Aviary.

  Mute—when a bird poops. The poop itself is also called a mute. Technically, the mute includes both pee and poop, in humans’ terms. See also Whitewash.

  Passage bird—a wild raptor that is younger than one year old. In other words, a hawk who has not yet lived through its first winter.

  Pellet—see Casting.

  Primary feathers—the longest feathers on a bird’s wing, which are farthest away from the bird’s body when the wing is extended. These are attached to the bones at the end of the bird’s wing. Think of them as the fingertips of the bird.