Two very different releases today. 

  The first was a Cooper's Hawk whose wing just didn't mend well enough to let her get any lift.  I gave her months in the huge flight cage but it just wasn't happening.  Blue light filled the space above her as she passed out of this life into the next.  It was surprisingly beautiful and she went quickly for a healthy bird.  It seems she was ready to move on. 

  The other was easier on the heart.  My son and I released a Pied-billed Grebe into a protected pond this afternoon.  The little booger ate 200 feeder fish in less than 24 hours!  Nearly 600 in the time I got him back from another rehabber!  Yikes.  He swam around in front of us for a while and made several long underwater dives before setting off across the water.  YAY

Both types of release are hard on the rehabber, in very different ways.  May the gods watch over them both and bless their journeys!