Excerpt
I put the owl into a cardboard box and brought him into the kitchen. Then the kids and I bent over to look at him more closely.
If a bird can't "clench" its toes, that often means its leg or its back are broken. To test the owl's reflexes, I stuck my finger under his foot. To my surprise, his claws--very thick, strong talons for such a small guy--curled tightly around my finger. I tried the other foot--same thing. Encouraged, I stretched out each of his wings, which still had their baby feathers. Pecky tucked them back neatly against his sides as soon as I let go. So his wings were okay, too.
I scratched the top of his head a little, and he opened his eyes and stared up at me. His eyes were round and yellow and blind-looking. He blinked a few times. Then he clumsily struggled to his feet. What was I supposed to do now?