Super Heart

Early April 2022

“Meow”
huh, cat?
come to think of it, I feel like I’ve heard the meowing voice coming from the attic last night as well. maybe the cat is stuck up there? how??
“Meow”
…i have to rescue it, but I’ve never been up to the attic.. is it even possible?
conveniently, my brother was passing by. so i grabbed him into the room and let him hear the cat voice.
「you see, it is a cat! i think she is stuck.. don’t you feel bad for her…please help the cat out」
my younger brother looked quite reluctant, but since he hear the voice, couldn’t ignore but to promise to go up to the attic when it gets bright tomorrow.

the next day, my brother, who is very busy with running the bakery, finally had a gap in the afternoon, and really came to help the cat.
I didn't hear anything during daytime…「maybe the cat was already left」i’ve told him, so avoiding him getting upset when the cat wasn't there anymore after all the time and work he is gonna do. but he came with a stepladder, murmured ‘gonna check anyways just to be sure’ He is the man you can rely on in times of need.

The only way to enter this attic is through a very small entrance in the ceiling above the small closet in my mother's room.
my brother was having a really hard time make it just to get up. also scary coz nobody has been up there before…thought myself again …sorry, the cat isn’t there anymore tho…
but i was acted as a good assistant. 「Are you okay?」「Move your legs over there」「more toward this way」
it’s was difficult and took so long to figure out to get up…started to think maybe it is impossible…
but miraculously, he did got up, and after about 5 minutes, I heard a small scream and unbelievable words.

"Hyaaaaa!”
“It’s not a cat! It’s a horned owl!!”

“whaaaaat!!!?”

after that, it's a festive affair.
it's an owl. It's not something we get to meet very often.
we all have to go see it.
first, I quickly went down to call my nephew and niece, who is in the second grade of elementary school and nursery school, who were stuck on YouTube screen in the living room as usual.

「your dad is up in the attic! and he found an owl!」

my nephew and niece, who usually glued to YouTube, quickly turned off the screen, stood up, and ran to the 2nd floor.
nephew were goes up to the attic without any hesitation with a light and a bug net.
niece was crying because of weird tension of every ones hyper mood, and refused to go up.
I wanted to see the owl myself, so I told my niece calmly「wait here」
then, I left the crying nursery school child behind and went up to the attic.

The attic was much larger than I imagined… could make another room here..
「This way」
I’ve walked towards my brother's dry voice. he was bit annoyed why I’ve called for his child.
the attic is not really safe place to be after all.
that area was right above the my mother's storage room, where I was hearing the voice at night.
there, a cute creature, much smaller than I had imagined, and actually looks like a cat! was stood there.
Its palm-sized body was in tense, and its ears in particularly stand out, making it look like an owl with ears.

「Wow. first time I’ve seeing the owl with ears!!」
despite my excitement, my brother and nephew were already working hard to complete their mission of catching the owl.
there are limited places to step in the attic, you can only walk on the thick wooden beams. my brother was always concerned about the safety of his child. my overzealous nephew tries several times to cover the bug net to the owl, but it didn't work as he only hits the owl. during that time, the owl did not run away or budge. both owl and humans keep each other in tense.
“maybe dead?”
I suspected so a few times, coz the owl never moved. then my brother took over and covered the bug net nicely, shaking it a little.
crunchy!!!
「Hee, the owl is actually alive!!」
put the owl in the bag, and carefully brought it down, and released it by the sea behind home.
my parents' home is right next to the sea, we live on the island,
called Sado island.
we opened the bag and the owl flew off energetically.
「yaaaay!!! the owl flew away very strong!!!」
we went back home feeling refreshed and little sad, but it was fun and felt lucky to see a horned owl, and glad we were able to help it out.

And that night. . .

“Meow”

“what?? again?!!!”
why? ?
“the owl is back!!??”
Seeing me happy, my brother pretended didnt hear or see me and went back to his room.

I already know how to get into the attic, so I have no choice but to do it by myself. . .
the next day, I decided to go back into the attic, which not easy to get up.
there, as expected, it was there.
the owl was at exactly at the same spot as yesterday.
I was gonna catch and release it again. but I felt something strange about it. so I went down from the attic and quickly searched Google for “Owl expert”
the hit was ‘Professor M of U University’ near by Tokyo.
so, I’ve call the university without any hesitation and asked for the Professor M.
explained the situation to the receptionist. i felt her frozen for a moment by my story over the phone, but she calmly said
「the professor is in the class right now, so would you mind if I call you back?」
she replied politely to such a strange phone call.
30 minutes of nervous waiting.
「you have a phone call from U University」
my brother was calling me with suspicious tone.

Professor M, who was speaking to me for the first time, listened to my story with great interest, and then said something shocking news to me.
「maybe there are eggs up there」
"...?"
「eeeeee!」
all the puzzles clicked into place, oh yeah, so thats way, didn't move, and came back. . .

yesterday, I was way too excited that I didn't look at that area at all.
「for now, just keep observing from far and see what gonna happens」
「yes! i see!! thank you very much!」
I hang up the phone in a daze.
I told my family the news, but they were a little surprised but didn't seem to be too interested.

from next day,
I was worried about what I could to do for the owl, and worried about the slightest noise from the attic.
one thing Professor M was told me,
「owls are very wary, so it might be best not to peek into them too much」
so, no idea if there are really eggs… but the owl is there and cant move… what about food or water then? ?
as more i think about it, I started to get worried more.
so I’ve called the Professor M, this time to his cell phone number that had given it to me in case something happened.
I’ve asked him 「maybe i should leave some foods?」「should I least give some water ?」「maybe i should….???」
Professor M was warmly replied
「ok then, I'll send in a night vision camera and monitor. so, you can watch whats going on at the attic」
two nice cameras and a monitor was arrived immediately.

It wasnt easy to install, but I managed to do it my best.
that night.
“there are eggs!”
“ah!!!!! another one, so dad owl is coming!!”
It was so much fun just to watch them. oh, this is the fun of bird watching!
I was so excited.

since then,I was really enjoying observing the owls everyday, even though I had daily hard times, I felt soothed by watching the owls.
It turns out that the long-eared owl is actually called a scops owl, which is recognized as an endangered species.

when I asked my nephews and nieces for their opinions on what to name the owl, my nephew wanted a name ‘super-hero’ and my niece was a ‘miss heart’, so we combined the two names and call it Super Heart.
my nephew's friends came to see it, also few of my friends, but basically I didn't want to let anyone know about the owl.
my mission was to protect the owl family.

’pew pew’

One month later, all five eggs hatched successfully and chicks were born. When the chicks were born, I was happy to hear a new voices coming from the attic.

during that time, I accumulated two or three SD cards, and sent them to U University in bulk.
the polite Professor M sent me an SD card and a Yu-Pack, so all I had to do was to drop it in the mail box about once every 10 days or so.
also this year, Professor M came to visit Sado island with his family under the guise of camping and came to check on the owls.
another one month later, all the chicks took off safely one by one.
then, every chicks flew away, and I felt very sad.
'Is this empty nest syndrome? Parents in the human world must be so lonely.'

that night, as I was looking damply outside, Super-Heart flew onto the roof next to me. and she looked at me for a while, and said, 'Thank you, you’ve taken good care of us’ (or so I felt) then flew off towards the mountain.

next year,
April 2023
Maybe, maybe… hoping hoping…and yes!
Super-Heart was back to the attic again!
successfully laid eggs, hatched chicks, and everything was going smoothly.
around that time that year, my friends and my husband (who is often at overseas for work) were visiting Sado island in and out, so I was busy and wasn’t able to observe the owl family every day.

one day, when I checked the monitor, there were no chicks. I run to the attic, but no owls was there.
. . . strange
chicks weren’t ready yet to take off.
my husband assured me that chicks must have taken off.
but I had a bad feeling, so I contact Professor M and asked him to check the SD card as soon as possible.
one or two days later, U University's response was:
'we could see the chicks falling into the cracks in the wall'
when the chicks grow up, they roam over a large area.
I was stunned, depressed and cried about the news.
my husband was also crying.
after that incident, Super-Heart was continued to cry outside every day, its voice only added more to the sadness.
ten days after the chicks fell, my husband left Japan for work,
and I was left alone.

that night, I heard a noise coming from the attic.
no way. . .
no way, no way. . . . .

the camera position was slightly off, so I couldn't confirm it, so I went up to the attic the next day.
sure enough, Super-Heart was sitting there.
「what's up?」
I couldnt help but to talk to her. of course she doesn't move in the slightest.
I’ve set the camera position and went down.
and that night…
Oh my God!
. . . there are eggs? ? ?!!
how?

I've contacted Professor M, 'I’ve never heard of it'
the professor M was surprised and also seemed very happy.
at the same time, I needed to do something to fill in the gaps of the wall.
I've asked around a carpenter friend for help, but they were either had a broken bone or busy.
meanwhile, surprisingly, the three chicks hatched successfully.
so, I had no choice but to do it myself.
i went up into the attic with a large amount of cardboard and fills the gaps with duct tape.
Super-Heart is looking at me from the side with its ears up.
the work of filling the space between the wall and the roof was extremely difficult, my whole body ached, and it was hot.
somehow, I managed to bury everything and hoping that chicks are not gonna fall this time..

I was observing it every day as if I were praying, but one evening, something happened. . .

. . . chicks are not there…

It was late night and I had just gotten out of the bath and was planning on going to bed.
I had no choice but gone up to the attic immediately.
As expected, no-chicks was there. And i found that there was one spot that the cardboard had came loose.
my husband (just came back to the island from his work) said again, wishful thinking「They've already flown away, haven't they?」but I knew it needed at least another two weeks before the chicks could fly, so I was sure for the sad news and disappointed myself.
but there was nothing we could do, so just went to the bed with sad feeling…
i closed my eyes, and after couple minutes of silent.

“rattling rattling pew pew pew”

I hear a small voices!
but from where? ?
. . . It was from inside of the wall.
hard to find exact spot, coz sounds like coming from everywhere, but somehow figured out the general location.
what should we do? The time was already past 1am. talked about it with my husband. but for now, let's sleep and think about a strategy tomorrow…
so, closed my eyes again.

“rattling rattling pew pew pew”

there's no way that I could sleep with sound and knowing they are stuck inside of the wall.
thought about various ways.
then i made up my mind, stood up, faced my husband, and declared.
「lets make a hole in the wall」
my husband froze for a moment, but he got up, and from then on, Mission Impossible music continued to play in my head.

It would be troublesome if I woke up my brother's family, so I secretly quietly went down to the first floor to get some tools.
I could guess that probably there are at the sea side wall of the storage room, the hole of cardboard was also around there. but since it's first time drilling a hole in the wall, and had know idea the structure inside, and not sure exactly where the chicks are, also echoes made it harder,
so scared to make that first hole.
also had to keep an eye on my brother's family to make sure they don't get up to use the bathroom or something.
my husband works on the wall little by little.
…is this method really help?
both me and my husband were so nervous.
the first hole. no chicks.
…actually impossible after all
…and at the second hole

"PEW"

it was there!!!
I put on my gloves and reached inside, I touched something soft and small.
”pew pew pew”
It was there! they were there!!!
ive burst in tears so much as i hold them in my hand.
we were able to save two birds together.
unfortunately couldn't find the one more chick… but two.
I quickly returned these two chicks to the attic, and also fixed the cardboard. my body was so exhausted, but finally could go to sleep happily.

The next night,
I looked at the monitor, I could only see just one chick.
…shit

went up to the attic and immediately, and secured this one chick, brought it down and put it in the cardboard box.
then i hear the voice came from inside of the wall again.
…shit shit shiiiiiiit!!
this time it was came from different spot.
It was a spot, where i didnt even cover, coz that was not on the wall,
somewhere in the middle and there was a hollow.
it was behind a heavy chest of drawers.

this time,
my husband and I worked calmly and without hesitation.
took out every drawers first, then moved the heavy chest.
first, my husband used his cell phone to collect sounds and found the exact spot to find them. and we were able to pinpoint the location of the chicks in one shot. And the rescue was successful!
we saved two chicks now in the cardboard box, making beeping noises and cutely threatening us.
we were so happy with rescue of two chicks.
then another really small voice came from inside of same wall.
"...!!!"
drilling another hole on the wall a little further away.
surprisingly there was a third bird was there, that one that couldn't find the night before.
in the end, we were able to save all three.

now the attic is too dangerous.
It was already past 11pm
but I called Professor M to ask him what I should do next.
I was thinking if I could take chicks to Professor M's place …maybe?
explain the situation, then Professor M said after a short pause.
「Okay. I'll take a break from tomorrow's class and head over there」
「what?!! seriously?? wow, Thank you!」
I was really moved and grateful.

meanwhile, my husband bought some salad chicken from a convenience store to feed chicks, but they didn't eat it. so i went to a friend's pub it was already 1am to get some raw meat. brought it back , and chicks were eating those happily.

the next day,
actually my husband had to leave again for work, so took him to the port,
in exchange, Professor M arrived with student K.
on the way we stop at a hardware store to buy plastic trash cans, string, and other things to use as nest boxes.
returning to the house, M&S were immediately set to work, making the nest box, and attached it to the west window, and placed the chicks inside.
「there, I’m sure the mom owl will find them somehow in this」
Professor M smiled warmly, also Student K, who seems to be a very reliable person.
student K was explained what happened that morning.
Professor M showed up to the class, and suddenly announced that he would be taking a break from his class today, and told that he is going to Sado island to save the owls.
and would be leaving within 30 minutes.
Student K was in shocked, but he decided, and told Professor M on the spot, that he is going also! at his own expense!!
…Student K will definitely become a big name in the future, so I want to get along well with him.

at the night, we went for the dinner to yakitori place, Student K were mentioning,
「the truth is, Professor M is incredibly busy and wanted…he has many other work to do…and actually owls are not his area of ​​expertise (lol)」
Student K were worried about Professor M’s over work and almost too much of curiosity for everything.
went back home, they were checking the monitor all night almost without sleeping. next morning, I woke up and peeked their room,
「good morning! you see, the mom owl came!」
he said bit tired but warm tone, and showing me the footage from last night.
the video showed Super-Heart was carrying food to a trash can nest box and feeding it to chicks.

the mom and dad owls are absolutely necessary for chicks who are still unable to find or eat food on their own. like same as humans.
「It's okay now」 said the real super-hero M&S,
and they dashed off to the boat on that morning.

WOW, that was amazing, and i relieved so much.
but from the next day, i was facing the another problem.
It was the heat.
It was a month and a half later than the usual parenting time for the owl, and it was already quite hot at Sado island at this time that year.

moreover, the only place we could install the nest was on the second floor, where it was exposed to the afternoon sun.
so i had to somehow to cool those chicks.
first, tried placing a ice on the top of the trash can. which melted quickly.
made more holes in the trash can nest… still hot.
I went back to the hardware store, bought a large awning curtain and installed. also add bamboo shade too.
still, it was too hot.
so I ended up freezing a plastic water bottle and changing it every morning and night.
every time, I hold a frozen plastic bottle and look inside, for their comfort and survive, chicks were making a fuss, and rattled “who are you?! U don’t come here!!”
…they were just like real kids. but still happy to see them grown everyday.
so, when the first chick took off, it was a mixed feeling of happy, relieved and sad.
a week later, the second chick took off, but something a little worrying happened. a neighbor came and said
「there's been a long-eared owl-like thing at my garden since yesterday」
I hadn't told my neighbors about the owl, but they seemed to knew somehow.

so I went to next door to look.
there, the second chick was there. It was really hot during the day. maybe have not eaten anything all day yesterday. . so, at my own discretion, I secretly brought the chick to my room, put it inside of a children tepee and air-conditioned during the day.
i was remembering, when I was at elementary school, secretly kept a rabbit without telling anyone.
my house weren’t allowed to have any animals coz’ of the bakery.

actually, important point was,
Professor M had told me that I should interact with owls as less as possible since they are wild. if the mom owl knew that chicks were on the hand of human, they might gonna stop parenting.

but I felt this time i had no choice.
so, i've tried to not interact too much, just gave the food with chopsticks from far, and ate it quickly.
in the evening, it is got cooler, i place the chick by the trash can nest on the roof.
that night, the third bird also took off.

somehow, I had a bad feeling about it.
after eating dinner, I went out on the side street.
there is a road that resembles a private road between my home and the company next door (the other side from the neighbor yesterday) , and although regular cars do not pass there, there is a road that is used by this company's cars during the day.
there, both chicks were there.
"What are you guys doing? You should go back to the mountain with your mom”
I was at a loss, not knowing what to do, but then I heard Super-Heart the mom’s voice nearby.

even though the chicks can fly, they are not yet able to live on their own. so they are return to the mountains with their parents, learn how to forage, and continue to spend time with their parents, receiving food until chicks have mastered the skill catch foods themselves.

i felt safe if Super-Heart were nearby, and if thats the case, I had to leave right away.
so, i went back home, feeling worried but somewhat relieved.
the next day, I received a call from the company next door.
「an owl here」
when I looked through the window, I saw a chick standing on top of a storage station placed in the aisle.
many employees seemed surprised to see the owl, taking pictures and saying like ’wow this owl won't move..’
i was more worried that if the other chick flew away safely. . . tho what should I do with this one? . .
In the afternoon, while I was having trouble thinking about it, another one of employees overheard me.
「do you know that there's another owl dead in the parking lot over there」
soon as i heard this, I immediately secured the one at the storage station, put the chick in a large cardboard box, and took it home.
and contact Professor M immediately.

「Okay. well, in that case, I'll have to contact the prefectural wild bird department in Niigata, so please wait」
meanwhile, i wrapped the dead chick in a cloth and place it in a small cardboard box.
the employees were surprised to see me touching the carcass with my bare hands.
for me, it's not a wild bird.
my baby was already cold.

Professor M informed me that a prefectural representative will come tomorrow to pick up the chick and take it to the Niigata Bird Conservation Center.

means, me and chick could stay together for just one night.
when chick returned to the mountains, she would have to catch live food herself, so for the practice, i went outside looking for cicadas, gave them alive, and chick were grabbing it and ate it strongly. i was trying to catch more alive things, and tried to feed it and watching it all night.
the next day, the time came.

where is your feelings?
the representative seemed to me like that.
even though I was crying and sad to say goodbye, he didn't seemed bother. It's bureaucratic work so it have to be that way i guess… I bowed my head deeply and said, 「Thank you very much, please take care of her」 and said goodbye.
I sent an email to Professor M telling him that the chick were taken and that I would like to go visit to see chick at the bird conservation center in Niigata, maybe we can go together.

the next morning, I received a phone call from this representative .
「Ah, hello. yesterday after that, I had the vet check it out and there was nothing wrong with it, so I left it in the mountain」
...?
「hello? I didn’t really need to tell you this, but you seemed worried yesterday so I called you」
「…um, which mountain?」
「 can't tell you」
「…in this neighborhood?」
「well, I guess」
「…」
「well then」
I was speechless.
I didn't want to believe it.

I went to across the mountain. there was no way I would have found it.
I couldn't tell Professor M about this for a while. when I told him, he was very angry with this representative’s act and apologized to me how it went down.
The professor M seems to facing this issue always, the difficulty of interacting with wild animals.
various weird rules that he had to follow.
of course, I had nothing but gratitude to Professor M.
and I felt truly sorry for what happened at my end.
when I called my husband, he burst into tears and said “next time, I'll definitely find this guy’’
the attic is now dangerous for the owls.
so, I’ve asked my brother to close the holes on the roof area, where they were using it as an entrance which actually shouldn’t be holes anyway.
then, I left Japan soon after.

and this year, 2024,
I didn't dare to ask what happened to the hole on the roof, but I returned to my parents' house on Sado island at the beginning of April anyway. (I live half of the time overseas)
the hole wasn't plugged. it was too much of the job, and no time to do it, my brother said.

that night when I came back, I heard SuperHeart's voice outside, then a rustling sound, set the camera, and a few days later, there were eggs.

immediately contacted Professor M, he seemed very happy.
「Okay! then, this year, as soon as the chicks are born, we'll move them to the nest box or something」
after couple days later, Professor M were decided to come to Sado with four students this year.

SuperHeart were warming eggs, but soon things started to look strange.
she looked wasn't as serious about incubating as she has been. she left eggs there, and kept going outside and even kicking eggs sometimes.
I felt something was really wrong.
meanwhile, Professor M decided to come to the island, he made reservations for a rental car, also found out that former student of Professor M was actually working on Sado island, so made a plans with this former student,
and the date of their trip to the island was decided.

There was actually a big drama this year. I don't know if it can be conveyed in words, but it was like a scene from a comedy movie.

Professor M's group was coming in a week, so I cleaned the house, prepared futons for everyone to sleep, and was about to head to a friend's birthday party.
on the way, there was a phone call from the facility where my father was staying at the time. it was to tell me that my father seemed ill so need to take him to the hospital. so, i went to pick him up, then he was hospitalized that night.

The doctor told me “to be prepared”
this was my third time been threatened so.
so it was a shock but I was used to it.
my father had developed dementia for a while already, and he had no idea where he is, but he was ok and singing cheerfully.
i’ve refused to sign a statement that said,
“In case needed times, the patient will be detained with belt’’
so, i had to promise to stay at the hospital and be with him 24 hours a day.
i was just gonna go to the party, so nothing prepared to stay at the hospital.
since then, i was commute between home to sleep and back to the hospital. on the fifth day of the hospital, being so exhausted and didn't sleep much. the nurse suddenly told me 「Please call your family, your father's breathing was slowing down」i was shaken, and I’ve called my brother's and his family to come to the hospital. also my another younger brother and my father's younger brother (my uncle) who lives near Tokyo.
they prepared to leave immediately and will get to the island the next day.

my father also has diabetes, so he had been having quite a few dietary restrictions. i wanted to give him an ice cream he has been always wanted to eat. so I asked my brother when he comes, to bring the chocolate ice cream for my father. my niece and nephew cut ice-cream into small pieces and gave them to my father… 「 i can eat much bigger piece」my father seemed enjoying it and ate more than I expected… as I watching my father, thinking maybe this is the last thing he eats… suddenly I remembered, 「ah!!! oh no!! i’ve totally forgot about it」
my brother realized everything and said, 「the owl crew…」 so we discussed what to do.

Professor M and his group were scheduled to come the next day. same as my other brother and uncle.
since my father has hospitalized, I’ve only told Professor M that “something came up, and I would no longer able to show you around, but welcome to come and stay at my home”
i had no idea that my dad became in critical condition like this early…
…but my father seems eating a lot of ice-cream tho…

my brother said that i should explain the situation to Professor M.
but if I tell him, will he gonna cancel whole trip…. I didnt want that to happen.
so confused and didnt know what to do…
soon after the evening came, my brother and his family went back home.
my father was dozing off for a while, them one point, he woke up for bit.
so, I just tried giving him an Onigiri, which i was plan to eat myself later. until then, the mushy rice porridge was on the menu for my father, avoiding the swallowing going wrong way accident. when I handed him the rice ball, his eyes widened and he started eating it like if nothing have happened
「so yummy！」
The next day, my uncle and aunt came over, and they were so happy to see my father. he had regained his appetite after last night rice balls and looked much better. also my aunt seemed very intrigued about the owl story, and happy about they are coming. my other younger brother, who had come from far away, was confused “what owl?’’ but he was more focused on helping my father recover. In the end, the team owls arrived safely, and I left my father with my younger brother, went home, met the Professor M and team owl, and explained everything, and asked my aunt for their care, and went to sleep.
The team owl seemed to have had a good time doing fieldwork and meeting former students, and going to local bar at night. after spending just one night, they headed back home.
my father got so much better after that, and that he was rather than discharged from the hospital, more less kicked out.
and he is singing everyday.

but this year, no chicks were born from the eggs.
although she spent twice as long incubating her eggs as usual, she finally gave up and took off around the time normally chicks are flying away.
It was really sad to see the mom rolling eggs and wandering around.

As I was looking the monitor, thinking, why did Super-Heart come again to my attic after what happened last year?

maybe Super-Heart came to tell us something?
there may no longer be a place in the mountains to raise chicks?
the mountain may already be dangerous…
…maybe we need to do something now.

this fall,
a project “installing owl’s nest in the mountains” is launched.
this is a joint project between University H, which has a researcher specializing in this rare owls, and University N, which is close to Sado and researching satoyama landscape, and Professor M as the supervisor.

just hope Super-Heart is happy.
just want them to feel safe to raise kids
for me, for my happiness.