one last flight

Many years ago, when Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation had moved out of my backyard to a four-acre site near Leon Springs, Texas, we received a call from a man who had found a large injured black bird in his field. I asked if the bird was a grackle. He said he didn’t know what a grackle looked like, but it seemed likely. I asked him to cover the bird gently with a towel or pillowcase, place him in a box and bring him to the sanctuary. All he had was a minnow net, but he would do what he could with that.

Within the hour an old blue pickup truck with a battered camper arrived in our driveway.