Thursday, October 13, 2011

Hooked bird :( and Katie's closet :)

Katie and I took a walk around the "berm" again this afternoon, but we went the other way.  When we walked about a half hour, I realized we were at the end, it doesn't go around.  I don't know what I was thinking, there are boats moored inside, of course they have to get out!  So, I got some photos of birds along the way:

 A flock of Seagulls

I love it when they all fly off, but I don't usually get the shot.

There were a couple of different types of ducks.

And these little black guys.

So we're walking along, and I see this black bird by himself at the water's edge.  He was going under the water, jumping back up, ruffling his feathers, kicking up a bunch of water.  I thought he was catching some kind of wonderful dinner for himself.  I started taking photos of him as we walked up to him.  

Surprisingly, he didn't fly away.  When I got closer, this is what I found:
 
 He had fishing line coming from his mouth.

 Poor thing, I could hear him breathing.

I wasn't sure what to do, no one was anywhere near us, and we were on the other side of the bermed off area from any activity, about a 20 minute fast walk.  So I tied Katie up a bit away, put my camera on the ground, rolled up my jeans legs, and went into the water a couple of feet so I could get close to him.

I held onto the fishing line, and he went crazy, then calmed down.  If the crazy spurt didn't dislodge whatever was in his mouth, I knew I wouldn't be able to pull it out without hurting him.  I tried to pull the line up from the water side, and something in the wet weeds was sharp; when I pulled the weeds off, there was a three barbed hook.  I pulled on it, and it broke off.   I was left holding the line with a bird at the end of it.  I figured the best I could do would be to shorten the line and he could swim away, with whatever was at the other end still in his mouth.  

I couldn't break the line closer to his beak and had no tools.  So I got two rocks and sawed the line off as close to the bird as I could.  And he turned around and swam away.  What a relief!

If we hadn't walked by when we did, he would have been tethered to the shoreline and since it was starting to get dark, I doubt anyone else would have come by to help him.  What a scary thought.  I don't know if he'll live with the thing in his mouth and a little fishing line coming out, or if he'll die, anyway, but I couldn't have left him there.  I'm hoping for a full recovery. :)

 Fly away, little guy!

 Yellow flowers in black and white shot
 
 Resident campground cat

Some people have mentioned Katie's wardrobe, but she only has four things and her vest for walks.  She has a princess dress, a blue sweater dress, a pink jacket and a raincoat.  She also has a Christmas sweater dress, but that's put away until December.  Here is her closet door where I hang her clothes on hooks:

 Katie's Door
 
 ...and her pink walking vest, with loops for the leash.
Can you see the blur where her wagging tail is?

 And finally, here are tonight's sunset shots:    
 
 I wanted to try a black and white shot and pick up the color of 
the clouds in the sunset.  Four ducks flying through.

Beautiful.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Thursday night, everyone!  :)

14 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking the time to help that poor bird. I sure hope he's okay. Great pictures.

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  2. It was good of yo to try to help the bird. I'm not sure I would have waded into the water, but it would be hard to let him be caught like that.

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  3. Bless you for your concern for the little bird. How sad for him. Nature has a way of healing so we will hope for the best.

    You have some really great photos tonight...birds, sunsets...and Katie's closet, lol!!

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  4. I wonder if there is a Fish & Wildlife ranger or park ranger nearby. Maybe they could keep an eye out for him and do something to help. So glad you were able to get him untethered.

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  5. So now you can add "bird rescue" to your growing list of accomplishments. Good job. Not many people would have taken the time to do what you did. You have a tender heart, Barbara.

    Katie seems to enjoy her wardrobe, so it's nice to be able to have all of her things in one place like that.

    Great sunset pictures! And...I really enjoyed the yellow flowers in the other picture. You're really getting some good use from your new camera!

    FYI,,,those little black floaty birds are coots...guess it takes one to know one!

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  6. The poor bird probably would not have survived the night had you not helped it. But as Gypsy stated, go to the park office & ask them to call a fish & wildlife center. They can come out to see if the bird is still hanging around. Usually, they will take the bird, if they can catch it, to a vet to get the hook removed. Then they rehab if necessary & re-release it back to the wild.
    Ducks, the brown ones are female, the ones with the green heads are male - mallards.
    The black birds, are American Coots. Which is what you saved.
    Hahah on Katie's closet! I told you to be careful or she'd be taking over yours! ;-)

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  7. Now you'll have to start carrying a pocket knife with you.

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  8. Good for you, helping the bird. I agree, if you tell someone there is probably a wildlife rescue in the area that could come. I've called them many times.

    That is one of my biggest pet peeves. Fishing LINE! If people would just not leave that line laying around, a lot of critters would be saved. Most places have receptacles for it but still we always see it laying around. We ALWAYS pick it up when we see it laying around. I find fishermen are slobs! I'm sure not all of them, but if you go to a fishing pier you will always find lots of trash and fishing line. Grrrrr.

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  9. that is one happy coot that saw you that day...

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  10. Fantastic photos and a good deed too. You will be rewarded or, perhaps you already are with your wonderful new life!

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  11. Thank you so much for going out of your comfort zone to help out that poor creature.

    I bet it will be okay, because you mentioned the hook wasn't in its mouth anywhere.

    And at least you saved it from being caught by a predator.

    I predict good Karma coming your way !!

    Take care...TnT

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  12. good of you to try and save the bird!..hopefully all will work out in the end!..love the sunset shots!!

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