An eagle and a cuckoo got into a car. It sounds like a start of a good (or bad) joke. But it’s a real story.
February 17, 2016 Highland Green resident Lynn Adams had a bald eagle and a common cuckoo in the back seat of her car. In fact, it’s not unusual for Lynn to have different types of birds in her vehicle and in her home on a daily basis.
Lynn was a graduate of nearby Brunswick High school and lived in Boston and Virginia before relocating back to Maine. She and her husband Red are “pioneers” at Highland Green, the 13th household to sign a contract at Highland Green way back in 2002, and live on Flicker Drive. As of February 2016, there were 173 homes in the community with residents hailing from 29 different States!
Lynn does not randomly abduct birds for fun. Five years ago she attended a live bird presentation put on through the Cathance River Education Alliance which was founded in concert with the development of Highland Green. The presenter put out a plea for volunteer transporters for Avian Haven.
Avian Haven is a non-profit organization in Freedom, Maine dedicated to bird rehabilitation. It was founded in 1999, has grown an annual case load of about 1,500, and has treated nearly 12,000 birds from more than 100 species.
The cause spoke to Lynn’s passion for volunteerism and love of the natural world. Five years later she has transported hundreds of birds for Avian Haven. At some point she had gained enough experience to graduated to the ability to host birds in need at her home overnight. She’s learned how to feed them and what unique foods different birds need to survive.
Lynn has contact with Avian Haven nearly every day and points out that each season presents its own challenges. The spring and summer bring lots of nestlings and fledglings who have gotten in trouble because of cats, or humans who unwittingly clear trees and bushes that have nests. The autumn tends toward birds like Canada geese that are migrating south and loons that are moving toward the ocean. The winter brings owls and other raptors that have been injured by cars. “Owls have an incredible ability to heal, especially with eye injuries. Scientists are researching how this might relate to humans,” says Lynn.
In addition to eagles and cuckoos, she has worked with owls, hawks, loons, robins, warblers, mourning doves, sparrows, wrens, waxwings, juncos, goldfinch, herons and many more.
“A tanager and a redpoll walked into a bar…”
You’ll have to meet Lynn to find out the punch line.
