Catch and release

One day we arrived at that same little country house to find something big flying around in the screened porch -- a fully grown osprey. It had entered through one of the window screens, probably blundering into the screen headfirst and suddenly finding itself more indoors than outdoors. The poor worried thing would cling to a screen with its mighty talons, flap its mighty wings a couple of times to cross the room to another window, and repeat, sometimes resting, never for long, hoping for a way out.

We could have just opened the exterior door, gone away, and waited. Instead, my wife took matters in hand, drawing on skills acquired in childhood when she used to assist a charming old gentleman in banding (much smaller) birds. She slowly approached the osprey, holding a large outstretched towel before her in a soothing manner. Then she deftly wrapped the bird up from behind and held it firmly but gently as she carried it outdoors, where she opened the towel and let it fly away.

In hindsight we both thought she had taken a crazy chance and was lucky not have been seriously cut up by claws or beak at the moment of release.