John Stokes and Osceola--A Man and An Eagle

An Eagle's Sky: My Life as a Birdman: How I Helped a One-Winged Eagle Fly Again by John L. Stokes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

" Always believe and never give up. Take care. John Stokes " It was Feb 16, 2017 and my husband and I had just attended a Wings to Soar presentation by John and his wife, Dale. We'd spent the weekend at Lake Guntersville State Park in Alabama for the Eagle Awareness program. Having made reservations to return for this year's program, I thought it might be nice to have read John's book before attending his presentation once more.

In the Wings to Soar program, the audience sits in semicircular rows of seats or stands around the periphery of a large auditorium as John and Dale introduce us to various large and small birds, all of which for one reason or another cannot be returned to the wild. The highlight of the program is the flight of various magnificent birds from John to Dale and back again just slightly above the heads of the rapt audience. Owls, hawks, falcons, osprey. There is also the black vulture who thinks
Dale is his mother--he has imprinted on her--and follows her around like a dog looking for handouts. But the star of the program is a distinguished, sharp-eyed, white-headed fellow with beautiful brown-black plumage who stands upright and haughty looking out at us from his perch on John's arm--an American bald eagle named Osceola who is missing a wing. He is the star and I cannot wait to see him again this year--how I hope he is there.

Which brings me to this book--it is a biography of a young man, born in Mississippi and grew up primarily in Tennessee where he still resides. From his earliest memories he has loved the outdoors and its creatures but none more than its birds--of all kinds. As the story develops we find him becoming more and more enamored of raptors as he also becomes more and more enamored with the sport of hang gliding. Both interests occupy most of the narrative but they are interwoven with his personal growth and the relationships of his life, both familial and professional .

A great deal of his professional life was spent at the Memphis Zoo where he was influential in the establishment of a rehabilitation program for injured birds and, if possible their release back into the wild. The methods used, the birds encountered and the successes and failures are fascinating. He also used the program both at the zoo and on his own time to try to educate the visitors about the birds. This led to media coverage which in time led to what appears to be jealousy on the part of the Zoo director and unrelenting friction between the two men.

In time, John left the Zoo to establish a conservation group with a couple of friends--the financial
set back and subsequent personal poverty shows that John lives by the inscription he placed in my book. But in time, things straightened out and life continued and his work with the birds took a different and more successful path. Throughout the story he introduces us to so many interesting characters--both human and avian. Some of them --the humans--are involved in the life of birds and others are involved in the life of being part-time birds. Through these connections it came to be that John, who met Osceola when he was still an immature eagle, was able to bring that regal eagle back into the air. It is not until the end of the book that the description of the items devised, the training it took and the actual lift off of the first flight of man and eagle on a hang glider takes place , but if you read no other part of the book, this will make your heart soar!

John has wit, an incredible positivity, a joy in his work, and the ability to write in a way that you feel a part of the story. I'm terrified of height and would never be able to take off on a hang glider but as I read this book I rode those thermals right along with him. It was a quiet and peaceful and exciting as sailing on the gentle swells of Lake Guntersville. Just a wonderful book and I cannot wait to see the man and Eagle again next month! There is a video of the two at www.osceolabaldeagle.com, a FB page under Osceola,A Eagle's Sky and a blog at http://aneaglessky.blogspot.com


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