Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them a New Family in the Wild - Paperback

by Deborah Lee Rose (Author), Jane Veltkamp (Author)

Winner of the 2023 De Bary Children's Science Book Award!

From the award-winning authors of Beauty and the Beak, Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp once again combine a dramatic story of raptor rescue with the science it takes to make it happen in this heartwarming and informative STEM picture book.

Young readers will cheer for the osprey adoption to be successful and see up close what it takes to help these beautiful birds have another chance in the wild. Expansive back matter includes detailed information on ospreys and their lifecycle, diet, nests, and behavior, plus how they got on the endangered species list, environmental challenges they face today, the tools raptor scientists use to do their work to protect them, and more!

The story begins with Swoop and Soar, two baby osprey chicks only ten days old, safe in their nest at the top of the forest...until a powerful storm sends their tree crashing to the ground, their nest shattered amidst thunder and lightning. Swoop and Soar is the true story of how science found these two orphan chicks a new osprey family and home in the wild. Raptor biologist Janie Veltkamp, who rescued Beauty the bald eagle, helps save the young osprey chicks and sets out to find them a new family. In a race against time, Janie finds the perfect new nest for the chicks, with wild osprey parents who have also lost chicks to the storm. But will the new parents accept Swoop and Soar as their own, or soon fly away from the nest forever?

After quickly nursing the baby brother and sister back to health, Janie carefully places them in the new nest while the osprey parents are out hunting for fish. Then Janie waits, watches and hopes. The new father brings back a fresh fish, but four long hours go by until the mother lands at the nest. Will she feed Swoop and Soar, and shade them from the Sun's burning rays with her outstretched wings? Can the chicks and their new osprey parents now become a real family?

Back Jacket

In Swoop and Soar's inspiring true story, children (and adults) will discover how science gave two real young ospreys a second chance for life in the wild. Through fascinating wild bird photos and STEM-rich text, readers can see closeup how the chicks grow and survive in the nest. How do their parents provide food for them and protect them from hungry predators like owls? How do Swoop and Soar take their first flights? How do they dive and crash underwater to catch fish, their only food?

In fact-filled backmatter, readers will learn how ospreys (found on every continent except Antarctica), use extraordinary adaptations like razor sharp beaks and talons, reversible toes, and protective eye membranes, to help them dive into the shallow water "strike zone" to catch their prey and feed themselves and their ever-hungry families. The book also teaches how the osprey was once an endangered species because of the insect-killing chemical DDT, and how scientists reintroduced and brought ospreys back from near extinction in parts of the US and other countries.

SWOOP AND SOAR, by the Authors of BEAUTY AND THE BEAK, reminds us that ospreys in the wild face modern-day challenges of extreme weather, loss of habitat, and impact from human activity. But, human efforts to protect all birds of prey species and the environment offer hope for ospreys' future.

Author Biography

Deborah Lee Rose coauthored the children's book Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, the Bank Street College Cook Prize for Best STEM Picture Book, and the California Reading Association Eureka! Gold Award for Nonfiction. Deborah is the author of bestselling and beloved books read around the world, including Astronauts Zoom! An Astronaut Alphabet about the International Space Station, Scientists Get Dressed, Jimmy the Joey, The Twelve Days of Winter, and Ocean Babies. She speaks to schools and libraries, professional conferences and organizations. After many years in Northern California, Deborah now lives in Silver Spring, MD. Visit her website at deborahleerose.com.

Jane Veltkamp coauthored the children's book Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, the Bank Street College Cook Prize for Best STEM Picture Book, and the California Reading Association Eureka! Gold Award for Nonfiction. A raptor biologist and educator, Jane is founding director of the nonprofit Birds of Prey Northwest in northern Idaho. She cares for Beauty the bald eagle, ospreys and raptors of all kinds, and leads raptor education programs involving live, specially trained educational birds. She directed the successful reintroduction of ospreys in eastern South Dakota. She rescues and treats wild raptors under permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She is the osprey expert for the Sandpoint, Idaho osprey nest cam. Visit her website at birdsofpreynorthwest.org.