MIDCOAST — These days, we tend to think the world of humans is abrasive and cruel (true, to an extent, and there is no shortage of proof), but then there are glimmers of a different human experience, where gestures of grace and goodwill bring hope that a higher nature prevails. Here are several that crossed the desk this past week, arriving in emails and phone calls to the Pilot. We want to share them with you:

Barred owl rescued in Lincolnville

On Thursday morning, a Barred owl with no incentive to move was discovered on a small hillock near Mike's Align and Repair on Route 1 in Lincolnville.

It was not clear whether the owl had been injured or was ill, but it was in obvious distress.

Nanette Gionfriddo, of Lincolnville, was heading to work in her car, but spotted the owl and stopped. Meanwhile, Mike Eugley also noticed the owl resting, with eyes closed, in the sunshine.

Gionfriddo called Avian Haven, in Freedom, for help. In turn, And Avian Haven, the region's well-known and respected rehabilitation center for wild birds, dispatched two dedicated volunteers to travel to Lincolnville from Swanville to lift the owl into a car and take to Freedom for care.

"Avian Haven is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of Maine’s injured, sick, and orphaned wild birds," the center says, at its website. 

Avian Haven provides advise on how to proceed when encountering a bird in distress. These are action plans that the public is smart to keep in a handy place, maybe on the door of the fridge. It is common enough in Maine that people stop to help wildlife, but many are not sure what to do next. For birds, Avian Haven says on its "Help, I've found an injured bird" page:

"To get assistance and/or guidance for safe capture and transport for an injured or orphaned bird, please call us at 207.382.6761. We are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year. Holiday hours may vary. Our address is 418 N. Palermo Road, Freedom, ME 04941.

"Finding an injured or sick bird can be a little bit distressing. Unfortunately, as more people move into spaces that were once wild, it is becoming more common to find birds that have been hit by cars, have flown into windows, or are suffering from a disease picked up at the local bird feeder. The following guide walks you through the steps to take if you find a bird in need of help, to give it the best chance of survival.

"This guide is intended for birds you believe may be sick or injured. For information on what to do if you find a baby bird, please click here. Please see the list of other permitted rehabilitators below."

As of March 7, the status of the owl is unknown, but we will check in again with Avian Haven.

They care. So did Gionfriddo, and the folks at Mike's Align and Repair. Many thanks to them all for recognizing that an animal in distress needed a helping hand, and got several.

Oil lights mean business

This was posted as a letter to the editor, but is here, as well, because it illustrates the finest of Mainers who are kind and capable. 

On Saturday morning, February 21, while the Midcoast was steeped in winter temperatures of 25 degrees F., Union resident Mary Jane West noticed two, "oil lights indicating immediate trouble" lighting up the dashboard of her car. When those lights come on, it is enough to shiver the timbers.

"I went to the nearest gas station/convenience store and asked for help as I wasn't even sure what type of oil the last repair shop had used and I am not mechanically inclined," she said. "Immediately Steven Simoneau, a total stranger,  got a paper funnel, figured out the correct type of oil, and checked levels before and after filling and turning the car back on and even looked under my car in the dirty snow. He also suggested a highly reputable repair shop.  

"I am so thankful to him; I consider him a hero, especially more than the rich and powerful that get idolized.  Thank you Steven!"

Stonington lobster buoy washes ashore on UK beach

Devon Drew, of the United Kingdom, sent an email March 5 to let us know that an inflatable buoy washed up in his neighborhood of the world.

"I thought I would just send a quick message from Devon in the UK, this evening while having a quick swim on a local beach I came across a buoy that had been washed up," he wrote.

The buoy had the name Ben Hardy, of Stonington, written in indelible ink on it, along with the name of his vessel, the Faye Renae.

And it was still partially inflated, a testament to the durability of thick-walled polyform buoys commonly used in Maine waters.

A little more than 10 years ago, PenBayPilot.com did a series of stories on Maine’s treasures and trash washing up on Ireland's beaches.

We had the good fortune to talk with Rosemary Hill, in County Kerry, who has spent so many years cleaning up the trash that crossed the Atlantic from this side of the Great Pond to her shores. A good portion came from those of us who live on the Gulf of Maine — buoys, shoes, water bottles, plastic junk.

Then, one family from Camden went to visit her and helped to clean up the trash.

"It is nice to renew our correspondence with you all," we wrote to Devon Drew. "Thank you for seeking us out. And enjoy swimming in the Atlantic in March!"

The case of a missing digital recorder

It is a small, simple Olympus voice recorder, the kind you slip into your pocket and then forget about until you go looking for it, and have to remember what coat you were wearing.

Bur it is an indispensable tool for those in the business of chronicling the world.

On March 4, the phone rang and the voice on the other end of the line was Bill Batty, Deputy Town Clerk and IT Manager at the St. George Town Office. Right then, we sat up straighter in the chair. It is an honor to hear from someone at the St. George Town Office, because we know they are busy tending to the peoples' business, and this was no chitchat call.

Batty reported that the Town Office had in possession a digital recorder, one that had been in the town's lost and found for several months. It had been discovered by a person walking along a dead-end street, near a small church, and turned over it to town office care. St. George posted about it at the town's Facebook page, and then it sat, unclaimed.

Batty picked it up recently and switched it on. Maybe there was clue embedded in a recording, he thought to himself. Besides being a deputy town clerk, Batty is a drummer, and travels the state on weekends playing with bands. He knows recorders.

Sure enough, clues were forthcoming, with PenBayPilot.com writer Sarah Thompson's voice breaking through the mystery. Firefighters had been called to that location due to smoke in a nearby house leading to a small interior fire. Sarah had been ready with questions for the firefighter in charge. However, no interview was conducted and no article of the event got posted. The recorder slipped, unnoticed from her possession. 

Batty called, and Sarah was relieved to hear that the recorder had resurfaced.

"Glad to hear that it is in good hands," she said, upon learning that it had been found. "I was still holding out hope that it was under the seats in the car, despite having searched many times."

She drove down to St. George the very next morning to retrieve it. 

Thank you, Bill Batty!~