Midtown Magazine

Page 108

Songs inside.

The Romance of Raptor Rescues Pictured above: Taylor GA Built-To-Order Cedar / Macassar Ebony

Returning an injured bird to flight is a reward that’s hard to match.

HARRY’S GUITAR SHOP 556 Pylon Way Raleigh, NC 27606 (919) 828 4888 www.harrysguitarshop.com

108 | midtownmag.com

By Cheryl Capaldo Traylor

It’s not every day you meet someone who untangles fishing line from the legs of a great blue heron or trudges miles around Falls Lake to rescue a juvenile eagle that has fallen out of the nest. But this is all in a day’s work for Steve Stone, director of animal care at the American Wildlife Refuge (AWR), a raptor rescue and rehabilitation center in Raleigh. Stone, a Raleigh native, has been rescuing raptors—or birds of prey—since 1996 and is the only active federally licensed raptor rescue/rehabilitator in Wake County. His enthusiasm shows as he describes the building plans for a new facility that extends AWR’s rescue efforts to other birds, reptiles, and small mammals. It