It was mid July 2008, and I was working a 6:30-9:30 shift at the Exploits Valley SPCA. The phone rang, and on the other end was a woman who had found an abandoned falcon at Catamaran Park in Badger.

We had many avians come in through our doors, but never to my knowledge did we have to deal with a lost falcon. I phoned my supervisor and asked for a little direction, she told me to call back the concerned lady and tell her to bring the bird to our facility.

Upon arrival, I noticed the woman had the little one settled in a nice rubbermaid container, and he was as content as anything! I transferred him to a small cat carrier, filled with grass and whatever other greens I could get my hands on. The woman left, and the next thing we had to decide on was his diet, and where we were going to have him stay.

About 20 minutes after brainstorming some ideas, my supervisor arrived at the shelter with a pair of tweezers and ground beef. She mentioned we couldn't leave the little guy alone overnight just in case something happened. I willingly volunteered to bring him home and nurse him throughout the night. When I got home, my parents were in complete shock at the fact we had to not only care for another animal, but a falcon at that. I went straight to my room with the carrier and started covering my bed in old newspapers, this was going to be one long night!

I opened up the door, and out hopped little Clarence, I called him, who was as gentle as a lamb. I grabbed some of the ground beef, and he gobbled it up and kept chirping for more. After I finished feeding him, I let him hop around for a bit on the bed and the floor, and then I put him back in the carrier for the night. I had cleared off the night stand next to my bed, and put his carrier up on it, in a position so that when I woke up during the night, I could peek in on him to see how he was doing. I feared something would happen to him, and the thought of death often crossed my paranoid mind.

The night passed and the morning arrived, Clarence was still alive and well. I was scheduled to work 8:30-12, so I put him in the vehicle, and we were off to the shelter. He came home with me for the next few nights until we made contact with Salmonier Nature Park who offered to take him in and get him used to the wild. The day came and the officials from the park dropped by the shelter to pick him up. Mac Pitcher confirmed that he was a male Merlin Falcon.

I managed to hold back my tears as he was loaded aboard the van en route to a new destination, and the beginning of a new life. In September I made contact with the park to see how he was doing, and it was confirmed that he made successful flight on September 7, 2008! I was overjoyed to hear of the success, but to this very day, I still miss Clarence.   Submitted By: Chris Janes