Carefully, Diana Miller unwraps two bandages on the sharp, white talons of Kyah, a 3-year-old Peregrine falcon.

Kyah has infections on both talons, a nightmare for birds of prey who rely so heavily on talons for balance, picking apart food and latching onto perches and branches.

The bird unleashes a deafening yelp inside the intensive care unit at the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo, 5200 Nature Center Road. Frightened and annoyed, Kyah is not fond of this daily process, save for one part of the ordeal: an epsom salt bath.

After meticulously unwinding the gauze from Kyah's talons, Miller gently holds the large bird. She places her talons in a plastic tub and firmly holds Kyah still.

The calming effect of the epsom salt is clearly evident, as the once yelping and flailing bird has now calmed.

After a 15-minute soak, it's time for more agony for Kyah. Miller now has to rub antibiotic ointment and rewrap her talons.

After the ordeal, Kyah will return to an enclosure, where the staff can monitor her progress.

It's important for the center to rehabilitate Kyah -- after all, she's one of the many individuals there who acts as an educational bird.

But at the raptor center, Miller provides care for all the birds like she does for Kyah.

In fact, the current interim executive director of the Nature and Raptor Center and long-time Raptor Center Director has cared for the birds and facility with the same gentle and unyielding passion for the past 30 years.

Miller's migration

Born in northern Illinois, Miller has been a Pueblo transplant since 1987, after graduating from Southern Illinois University.

She ventured to Pueblo in 1985 for an internship at the Nature and Raptor Center, immediately becoming enamored with the birds and the town.

"I got to learn how to use the raptors for education and just got very interested in birds of prey and the center's work with the rehabilitation of the injured birds," Miller said. "When the internship ended, I asked if I could stay and do another internship in wildlife rehab. So I did that, and my parents, of course, said, 'Are you ever coming home?'?"

The answer, in the long term, was "no." Miller returned to finish her schooling, but upon graduation came back to Pueblo.

Soon after, a position at the center opened up and Miller has since called Pueblo home.

"I really enjoyed the Pueblo area, and I missed the birds," she said.

The day-to-day

From the early morning to almost evening -- and, at times, later -- there is plenty for Miller and the staff of 25 (mostly volunteers) to do.

From checking on the birds to feedings, cage cleaning, ICU care and general upkeep, each day brings about new challenges for Miller and company to tackle.

"There's certain basics that have to be done every day," she said.

Summer is an especially busy time, as most birds have returned from the South after winter migrations.

Injured birds are a-plenty in those months, including an emaciated red-tailed hawk and a great horned owl with a fractured bone in its wing. The center aims to rehabilitate, release and save as many birds as it possibly can.

"Before birds get to go back to the wild, a lot of things have to go well," Miller said.

Back to the wild

Recently, a great horned owl came in with a fractured ulna bone.

Miller and the staff wasted no time in beginning its rehab process, all the while making the process as easy for the bird as possible.

"We immobilized the wing so he wouldn't be moving it and causing himself extra pain," Miller said. "We made him comfortable, and he actually got some ibuprofen to take away some of the sting."

Next, the owl traveled to Colorado Springs for a veterinarian to X-ray his wing and to see if the injury would require surgery.

Fortunately, it did not.

He returned to the center and has been cared for in a small, confined enclosure. Thus far, his wing has healed nicely. After a follow-up trip to the vet, the owl will be monitored to ensure he can begin to resume every-day bird activities and get more space to pursue such activities.

"He'll move into an outdoor enclosure soon, probably one that is 20 to 30 feet long and that he can start to stretch that wing back," Miller said. "The muscles have been all tightened up, and that will start letting him stretch and exercise."

When he appears ready, he'll be moved to the flight enclosure for more freedom.

The flight enclosure is a large 120-foot-long building made of wood and fencing. Inside are several long stalls with 20-foot tall ceilings.

When you walk into one stall, you're greeted by red-tailed hawks gracefully zooming over head, screeching as they soar.

In another stall, several great horned owls are perched atop a branch in the distance, chirping as they intently stare at the human intruders.

Behind the door are more perches, where two female owls stare down at you.

This is the final step before the injured owl can be released.

"We'll keep an eye and watch and evaluate him from that standpoint," Miller said. "When we feel he's doing great, he'll be released."

Birds of education

Not all birds are healed through the rehabilitation process. Some injures are too far gone, and some birds are born with or develop disabilities.

In some cases, these birds will become ambassadors of sorts as educational birds.

"If (the bird) stays with us, we'll go through the training process with (it)," Miller said. "The bird will need to be conditioned to deal with humans in a tight environment. They sit on our arms, so they have to be accustomed to being very close to a human for extended periods of times."

These birds will go to schools and events, and can be taken out of their enclosures for up-close-and-personal experiences with humans.

The training process takes three to six months, depending upon the bird, and to be considered ready each bird must be able to deal with human interaction at a high level.

"They have to be used to crazy things happening, like people with cameras, or dogs and cats walking by," Miller said. "It's a long process of conditioning them to deal with all of those situations."

Once the bird is trained, it then becomes a great partner in educating people not just about birds of prey, but about the world we share with them.

"Birds of prey don't let you get close to them in the wild, and people are fascinated with them and want to learn about them," Miller said. "It's really just a great tool for us to use to help educate and get people interested and concerned for the well-being of these birds and share what's happening to them in the wild."

Miller has long been passionate about educating people and helping conservation efforts for the birds, as well as for the habitats in which they live.

"We offer programs on geology and plants and river animals," Miller said. "The center is quite important for the area. The prairie and river habitats are just a wonderful way to learn and appreciate why Pueblo can exist where it does."

Spread your wings

Miller loves every aspect of her job.

From the day-to-day chores to the birds, there isn't one facet of her job she doesn't like.

Her favorite part, however, is those she works with on a daily basis.

Whether it's the part-time and full-time employees or volunteers, Miller admires those dedicated people.

"Certainly, the birds are a passion that I have, but beyond the birds it's the people that I get to work with and the volunteers who are such an inspiration to me," Miller said. "It's the people that I see freely giving their time and resources, their energy to do this and watching their enjoyment of it, how they enjoy the birds and see how they grow."

Throughout her time at the center, Miller has met all kinds of people from various walks of life. Just like the birds who have faced difficulties, she has watched people overcome their struggles to become stronger, better people.

"Sometimes you get someone who has had a pretty tough time and they're a little bit broken," Miller said. "They spend a little bit of time with the birds and care for them because the bird is broken, too. To see the two of them kind of parallel each other through their journey and both come out of it better, to see sometimes the growth that person goes through when they're caring for the animals and to be in their presence, is really quite healing and fun to watch.

"That's what keeps me coming back. It's the people as well as the animals."

llyons@chieftain.com