"There is a bird in our building. It's been there all morning and we can't get it out! Can you help?" The frantic call came from North Star Elementary.

Off we go with carrier and net. What we find is a twenty-plus foot ceiling, studded with bright lights and three suspended fixtures in a large rotunda with halls leading in all directions. A short entrance of glass doors and fixed glass panels is the only way out.

The stressed bird flies from fixture to fixture, desperate and panicky. We only get a short glimpse of a long dark tail and the slender bill of an insect eater. It's a flycatcher.

There is nothing we can do, but there is hope. We leave and return with a batch of live crickets and instructions to wait until human traffic has stopped, then to open all doors, turn off the lights and try to lead the bird to the door with the crickets.

During the afternoon we received several discouraging phone calls. "The bird is getting tired." "The bird is not flying anymore. It is sleeping on a light fixture." And then an excited voice "The bird is out! It woke up and we threw crickets into the air. It swooped down and ate six of them. Then we led it to the door and it flew out!"

Freedom and even a full stomach. That is success.