Return to the Sky by Tina Morris

Author:Tina Morris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Part Three

1977

- Chapter 17 -

Changes

From my distant vantage point in Ithaca, I could see more clearly the close calls, faulty judgment, and innocence that plagued W1, W2, and me in our common pursuit of survival during that summer of 1976. It was not lost on me that the attention I received at the RRF conference from the eagle biologists—as much as I would like to think it was personal—was due more to their professional curiosity. They displayed palpable relief that Bald Eagles can survive in the wild without their parents, that the normal rites of passage to becoming a self-sufficient adult occur by instinct and don’t have to be taught by parent birds. The successful departure and independence of the Wisconsin birds, even though there were only two of them, were visible proof that hacking eagles could be done.

While I had feared being alone for three months, by August I had come to relish my independence. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, during that first summer I had been given the gift of autonomy as I studied the birds, explored what worked and what didn’t, and had the luxury of correcting my mistakes. This was feeling like my program, and the eagles, my birds. For the most part, I worked alone even though Jim and Willard were a phone call away. I could easily forget that there were many others invested in the eaglets’ future and that I was merely a temporary custodian of the project.

I had proven to myself that I could do this job, which, one year ago, had seemed way beyond my abilities. Although I never spent time celebrating this accomplishment, I was relieved beyond measure I hadn’t squandered the opportunity presented to me. In many ways, my two charges in the nest had been guinea pigs as much as I had. The missteps during that first summer were mine to make. I had to gain the confidence of the federal and state agencies who were funding me, even though it meant surviving many wrong turns before I could believe I had done this. Everyone connected to the release was beginning to view the program as less of an experiment and more as a long-term conservation model.

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