There is a small compound with bird feeders on the back roads of Boyds.

Suddenly, a souped up Toyota Tacoma kicks up a cloud of dust as it pulls into view. It goes to a stop. A woman with a glove covering one arm and hawk tattoos covering the other walks out of a truck. She pulled out a box as she reached into the passenger seat.

I knew this one was going to the I.C.U.

ImageA close-up picture shows a brown, white and black owl sitting in a pair of gloved hands.
Lisa Phillips, a volunteer raptor rehabber, holds a great horned owl before it undergoes a health inspection.
A close-up picture shows a brown, white and black owl sitting in a pair of gloved hands.
ImageA close-up picture shows an owl’s eye decorated with a glint of sunlight.
Great horned owls hunt mammals but will also eat insects and carrion, which makes them a prime target for car collisions and rodenticide poisoning.
A close-up picture shows an owl’s eye decorated with a glint of sunlight.

Nancy McDonald is a volunteer rescuer at the Owl Moon Raptor Center, an organization that helps rescue and rehabilitate injured segulls before they are returned to the wild.

The Latin word "rapi" means "to seize" A hooked beak, sharp talons, and keen eyesight are some of the characteristics of a raptor.

Birds of Prey that live among humans have a fragile life cycle. Rodenticides, fishing lines and wires are some of the threats they face.

ImageA woman is crouching next to an open cardboard box, and a flurry of feathers appears in the foreground of the picture.
Nancy McDonald releases a red-shouldered hawk after several grueling months of rehabilitation. The bird’s release is an emotional payoff for the rehabbers.
A woman is crouching next to an open cardboard box, and a flurry of feathers appears in the foreground of the picture.

The animals are able to adapt.

There are falcons that use high-rise buildings as their aeries, as well as committees of vulture that take over dumpsters, according to Ms. McDonald. The term committee is used for a group of vultures.

When I was a college student in Washington, D.C., I learned about Ms. McDonald and the Owl Moon Raptor Center and assumed I would have to travel to far to see it.

On my way to and from class, I would often see hawks flying over the city. I began to look for broken branches and carcasses of prey in the birds in between lectures. I wondered about the threats the birds faced and the people who worked to save them, after spending so much time looking for clues.

ImageA white and brown hawk is perched in an enclosed wooden building, and a gloved hand is looming over the bird with a net.
Evelyn Lewis collects Kean, an immature red-tailed hawk, in the Owl Moon mew. The bird had struggled after a collision with a window and would eventually be euthanized.
A white and brown hawk is perched in an enclosed wooden building, and a gloved hand is looming over the bird with a net.

I moved back to my family home after the Pandemic hit. I asked a question in a local birdwatching group on Facebook, and Ms. McDonald responded. I was invited to visit Owl Moon to learn more about the threats that plague urban birds of prey.

I was enamored after my first visit. I was with Ms. McDonald for weeks as she went about her work. When a bird had to be euthanized, we shared a bottle of Whiskey.

ImageA woman wearing gloves holds a brown, white and black owl, which is perched in her hand.
Because of their low-swooping flight patterns and their tendency to fly at night, owls have a relatively high risk of being struck by cars.
A woman wearing gloves holds a brown, white and black owl, which is perched in her hand.

Some of the work was dull. A red-tailed hawk named Kean was found to be sitting on top of and crushing other birds in the mew, a large birdhouse. The bird had neurological and behavioral issues after colliding with a high-rise. The injuries of other birds were made worse by Kean's condition.

The time was running out. Ms. McDonald tried to find another home for the bird, calling other rehabilitation centers that she thought might want the hawk as an ambassador bird, or a bird used for educational purposes with students and other visitors No one else had room for a red-tail hawk. It's possible that many centers made room for a more exotic bird.

Realizing that the bird's condition was too dangerous to the other releasable birds, the Owl Moon Raptor Center euthanized the bird.

ImageA bird flies through the sky, just above the contours of a red brick building.
A red-tailed hawk soars above George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
A bird flies through the sky, just above the contours of a red brick building.

It's an unfortunate reality of raptor rescues. It's the only humane way forward after a collision with a window or car. Each loss is hard for the volunteers.

The success that drives the raptor rescuers forward. When she joined the organization, she was given the task of releasing a rehabilitated red-tailed hawk in Maryland.

She said that the box jumped out when she opened it. All of a sudden, the hawk took off after sitting for about 10 minutes. She said it was the first time she knew she was part of something important.

ImageHalf a dozen black vultures are perched on top of, and inside, a set of two blue dumpsters.
For black vultures, the bottom of these dumpsters became a battleground for edible morsels.
Half a dozen black vultures are perched on top of, and inside, a set of two blue dumpsters.

Owl Moon is located around the mew where many of the hawks are held. There were more than 20 birds of prey who were confined while being rehabilitated as the wooden floorboards creaked.

I would take pictures of the rescuers preparing for their rounds. They fitted themselves with 12-foot nets. They were going to duck. There was a lot of feathers as they entered the room with the birds.

Imagea bird sits on a tree branch in the middle of a cityscape, which includes a brick building on the left and a traffic light on the right.
A red-tailed hawk perches on a tree between a fraternity house and a traffic light.
a bird sits on a tree branch in the middle of a cityscape, which includes a brick building on the left and a traffic light on the right.

Owl Moon employees believe that each bird's journey is their own. For the day the birds can fly free, both the birds and their rehabbers look forward to it. Lessons about resilience, adaptation and recovery are gained by giving the birds another chance.

I learned something important from the birds when I was a photographer. If only we were willing to look we could find them all around us.

Jules Jacobs is a photographer. His work can be seen on the social media platform.

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