BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2021
The barred owl had originally been found in the middle of Route 1 in Perry. It had probably collided with a car’s windshield. This often happens at night when a bird becomes blinded by an automobile’s headlights. Since then, the owl had recovered at Avian Haven. Healthy and strong, it was ready to be released back to where it came from. We drove to Perry, seeking an uncongested site, and suddenly there it was: a cemetery. The owl had landed in a tree so that only its lower body was visible to me. I took a photo. Then, it obligingly ducked its head to look at us, as if to say “thank you,” and I took another picture. Across the road a monument read “This Stone Marks…Halfway From The Equator To The Pole.” So, I gave the owl its name: Halfway. ~ Richard Spinney