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“Did I say something?” I ask.
“No, no. It just reminded me of being a kid at my grandpa’s house. He loved feeding birds, too. He is why I'm so passionate about it.”
“So did my mom. She is why I love it.”
We pull into the parking lot of the sanctuary and the excitement I first had when I got in the van came storming back.
“Eek!” I clap my hands, and it makes Chris laugh.
Everyone unloads from the vans and we meet in front of the building. The sanctuary director comes out and tells us what will happen during our visit today.
“Good morning, bird lovers. Today, I will take you through a guided tour of our facility. You will get to meet Jim, our great horned owl ambassador, and Sam, our pelican ambassador. Today is also a very special day because we also have a group of sibling gulls we will release and you all will get to join us.”
My eyes light up, and I turn to look at Chris. He’s already looking at me. My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. His finger grabs my pinkie, and I glance down quickly then give it a quick squeeze. I’m not sure how everyone would react to…us. Is there an "us"? No.
I pull my hand away and grab my phone and snap a few pictures of the outside of the building. I don’t want him to think I don’t want to hold his hand, so taking pictures makes sense.
We follow in behind the director, and our first stop is with the permanent resident of the sanctuary. Birds that are injured and can’t be released back into the wild.
After that, it was time for the scheduled release. We all gathered on the beach, and a truck brought a few cages with seagulls in them. We had to stand pretty far away, but it was still amazing. They found these birds as babies after their mom died. And now it’s time for them to be free.
They set the cages down on the sand and opened the doors. Three seagulls walk out of the cages, look back at the people who opened their doorway to freedom and took off into the air. My eye’s swell with tears as those three seagulls go live their best seabird lives.
Everyone claps as they fly away, and I wipe the tears from my face. Then a warm presence leans against my backside, hands skirting my hips. Chris. He leans down, putting his cheek on the side of my head.
“That was beautiful,” he says.
I nod in agreement, knowing if I speak, I may start ugly crying. I turn and face him, and his brows pinch together. My face is red from the emotion it all brought on.
“You okay?”
I nod again and take a deep breath. “That was just really sweet.”
“Yeah, it was. You ready to go feed some pelicans now?”
A smile spreads across my face and sniffle the last of the tears and emotions away.
“Absolutely.”
“Let’s go, Titmouse.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Nope.”
They are huge. The pelicans, that is. I didn’t realize they stood so tall. Most of them are around four and a half feet, almost as tall as me. And they don’t care that we are in here with them. They just go about their business.
“These are our Brown Pelicans. The pelican family is thirty million years old. The brown pelican is the only pelican that can dive into the water from twenty to thirty feet above to catch its food. These guys can live anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five years and their wingspan is somewhere around six feet wide.”
I listen intently, taking in all the information that I didn’t know before. I have done research on birds, but it’s the birds that come to my feeders.
“Can I have three…”
I raise my hand. I didn’t even let her finish because I don’t care what I am volunteering for If it’s with these guys, I’m in.
She laughs. “Volunteers who want to feed Sam, our pelican ambassador.”
She points to me, and two others to join her.
