Christie Gove-Berg - Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation

To my three: Owen, Adelyn and Annamarie. I am so lucky to be your mom.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to wildlife hospitals and raptor centers everywhere. The work that you do is vital. I hope this book helps to further your efforts to educate and preserve.

Special thanks to Amanda Nicholson and the Wildlife Center of Virginia for sharing knowledge, photos and the story of Maggie; the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for maintaining the nest cam and for sharing photos; Chad and Chris Saladin for their amazing photos from C&Cs Ohio Peregrine Page (Facebook) and the Medina Raptor Center for the good work that you do; Scott Turnmeyer for sharing your beautiful pictures; the Rfalconcam.com for the adorable shots of young falcons and the Genesee Valley Audubon Society for giving permission to use their webcam photos; and the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota for getting me started and for your ongoing support and enthusiasm.

Photo Credits by Photographer and Page Number

All images copyright of their respective photographers.

Front cover: Scott Turnmeyer (falcon); Wildlife Center of Virginia (people)

Back cover: Chad and Chris Saladin (falcon); Wildlife Center of Virginia (people). Spine: Scott Turnmeyer

Genesee Valley Audubon Society: (falcon)

Edited by Ryan Jacobson

Cover and book design by Jonathan Norberg

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Copyright 2016 by Christie Gove-Berg

Published by Adventure Publications

820 Cleveland Street South
Cambridge, Minnesota 55008

1-800-678-7006

www.adventurepublications.net

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-59193-516-2; eISBN: 978-1-59193-630-5

Not all birds live in trees. Maggie is a two-month-old Peregrine Falcon, and she is a city bird. She lives in her parents nest on top of a very tall building. She cannot fly yet, but she loves to see all the action on the busy streets below.

Maggie watches her parents dive through the sky to catch food. Mostly, they hunt for pigeons. Sometimes, they get other birds, too. Maggies parents bring the food to the nest for Maggie to eat. Yum!

With her tummy full, Maggie exercises. She takes little jumps along the ledge, while opening and closing her wings. When the wind blows under her, she lifts into the air. This feels right. Maggie is almost ready to fly.

The morning of her first flight is sunny but breezy. She moves to the edge of the nest and feels the push of the wind along her feathers.

Maggie opens her wings and leaps

and flaps

and flies!

Her heart races. Sounds of the city swirl around her. She soars to the top of a construction crane and lands.

There, she watches smaller birds fly below. She dreams of catching her own food.

Two days go by. Maggie practices flying. She leaves the nest to explore. The sun warms her as she glides past buildings.

A strong wind lifts her. Maggie starts to turn, but she is pushed sideways by the breeze. Suddenly, in front of her, there is a building. It is close. Too close.

CRASH!

Maggie tumbles downward.
She falls fast. She cannot stop.

And then she is on the ground. The pavement is hot. There are people everywhere. They lean in close.

Maggie realizes that her beak hurts. Her eyes arent working right. Whats wrong with her? Maggie cries out in fear and pain.

Special people come and pick her up. They seem to know what to do. She is put inside a crate and taken out of the city.

The people move her into a building. They call the place a wildlife hospital. They bring her to a quiet room and lift her from the crate.

Maggie shivers in fright. They shine a light in her eyes and stretch out her wings. They poke her with something sharp and take pictures of her. Maggie is too tired to fight. She lets them care for her.

Days pass, and the doctors keep checking on Maggie. She learns that her left eye was damaged when she hit the building. Plus, the tip of her beak broke off.

Luckily, the x-rays show that she didnt break any bones. And her beak will grow back, as good as new.

But the doctors are worried about her eye. If it doesnt get better, they will have to remove it. If they remove it, Maggie can never return to the wild.

The doctors decide that the eye will never heal. They give Maggie medicine that makes her tired. Then, while Maggie is asleep, the doctors carefully remove the injured eye.

When Maggie wakes, there is less pain. She can see, but everything looks different.

Maggie is glad that the pain is gone, but she misses her parents nest. She misses being outdoors. Outside feels much better than inside.