Return to the Sky

“Three cheers for this splendid, surprising, inspiring book!”—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

Alone in a vast wildlife refuge with little direction and no experience, an American ornithology student found herself responsible for a project of historical importance – to bring the mighty Bald Eagle back from the brink of extinction.

Tina Morris was one of the first women to spearhead a raptor reintroduction program, and in Return to the Sky, she shares her remarkable story that is as much about the human spirit as it is about birds of prey.

In the spring of 1975, on the eve of America’s Bicentennial, Tina was selected to reintroduce Bald Eagles into New York State in the hope that the species could eventually repopulate eastern North America. Young and female in a male-dominated field, Tina was handed an assignment to rehabilitate a population that had been devastated by the effects of DDT. The challenges were prodigious, and with no model to refer to, she spent two years playing ‘mother’ to seven eaglets at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in New York. Driven by her passion, she discovered unknown reserves of patience, determination and grit, and her own path to self-discovery and confidence-building was inextricably linked to the survival of the species she was chosen to protect.

At a time when the mass extinction of bird species is a critical global topic, Return to the Sky reminds us how, with a mix of common sense, resilience and resolve, humans can be effective stewards of the natural world.