April was quite busy at WBR with a total of 39 rescues for the month. Ten swans had to be attended to; eight ibis and four pelicans, plus several other species of bird. As usual our old friend fishing line was often the cause.
One of the most spectacular rescues was a pelican that showed up covered in blood and with a 400mm gash in his pouch. With the help of VMR Southport I located the bird on one of the Broadwater sandbars after it had flown away from the Labrador foreshore. The cut in the pouch was very straight, unlike a tear which can happen during a fight with another bird, or when a fish hook is ripped through the pouch. I think this bird had been slashed with a knife. The pelican was a difficult catch, but the new net gun proved its worth yet again. I rushed the peli, now known as Hilton, to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, where Head Vet Dr. Mic Pyne spent 3 hours inserting almost 200 stitches in the pouch. Despite all of the blood, no other injuries were found, and Hilton is expected to make a full recovery.
A lot of time this month was spent helping two families of swans in
Burleigh Waters. First I had to rescue one of three cygnets that had swallowed several meters of fishing line. Twinkle, as he was called, was very lucky to survive. When reunited with his family ten days later they all attacked him (which is common after an absence) and so Twinkle had to be re-captured and put into care. Three weeks later the parents began mating too early which triggered attacks on their remaining two cygnets. Hughie and Louie also had to be caught and joined their brother Twinkle. I felt some sense of justice when those two abusive parents lost their new nest in the floods last weekend. They just don’t deserve to have cygnets.
The second family of swans experienced real tragedy. It looks as though their seven brand new cygnets had come into contact with a toxin, probably a freshly sprayed lawn, because ultimately all cygnets died within a week. The worst part was that, sensing illness in their young, the parents began to euthenase them. This too is normal swan behaviour as parents can often tell when something is very wrong. Unfortunately we will never know which toxin was involved because non-specific testing isn’t possible.
These are just a few of dozens of rescues performed during April. Sincere thanks go to my generous supporters and members of the WBR donations committee. Your help makes all of these rescues possible.
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Rowley
President, Wild Bird Rescues GOLD COAST