With only 25 rescues in February it was a relatively quiet month at Wild Bird Rescues. This is always a good thing for the birds.
One of the big events was the release of Cindy the oyster catcher.
I caught Cindy in early December ’14 after she was seen limping on a local foreshore. Oyster catchers are one of my favourite birds. They are a semi-threatened species and particularly vulnerable to entanglement in fishing line while they wade and feed. These birds are not easy to catch, in fact it took me three days to track Cindy down and blow a net over her. Her left foot was in terrible condition. The toes appeared to be disintegrating and were in no condition to climb over sharp, oyster covered rocks.
Cindy was rushed to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital where the skilled team of vets and nurses put in many hours to save her life. She underwent several operations to amputate and pare back damaged toes so that a stable stump could form to carry her weight.
Eight weeks is a long time for any bird to spend in hospital – more than a year in human terms. It’s also an incredibly expensive undertaking and we are very lucky to have a hospital that provides such a wonderful service for free.
Finally, in early Feb, the big day came and Cindy was returned to her place of capture. Rather than flying away she bolted off down the beach and jumped into the water to spend a full ten minutes washing away the stinky human smell and clean her flight feathers. Then she took to the air. Although a bit wonky she looked great.
February produced plenty of the usual hookings.
This little girl had a hook in her cheek and fishing line wrapped around her body. The injury was worse than I first thought but the hook came out easily and the line was disentangled from her wings and feathers. It astounds me that fishers can knowingly catch swans and then cut them free to swim off with a hook in their face and towing several meters of line. I catch at least 100 swans and pelicans every year with this kind of injury and the dickheads who hook them NEVER call to get the birds help.
Another case was this little pacific black duck. She was in real trouble and proved difficult to catch because I had to snare her out of a pack of 42 other ducks, all jostling for the food being thrown. Judging when to trip the snare was like a lucky dip! Eventually she was caught and spent a week in hospital before being released safe and sound. (the blue arrow points to the hook deep in the bird’s jaw)
In other news the huge osprey nest high on the pole at the western end of Sundale Bridge in Southport, has blown down. It came off about a month ago. Fortunately the pair’s most recent chick is fledged and well along with his flight and fishing training. Thank goodness this didn’t happen three months ago when he was still in the nest. The family looks to have abandoned the tower although individual birds can be seen perched there occasionally. Hopefully they will re-build. They are such fun to watch.
To my great surprise I just read an article stating that Fisheries QLD has banned the use of set lines in tidal waters as of the first of Feb. This comes as very welcome news indeed – set lines being the bane of so many birds that become entangled every year. The new law only applies to tidal waters, not lakes. Fishers on lakes will still be permitted to cast out six fishing lines and walk 50 meters away leaving them unattended. In my view that is a completely unnecessary privilege knowing the damage those unattended lines can do to waterbirds. That said, the ban in tidal waters is very welcome and will help to stem the carnage that has gone on for years. Before celebrating I’m awaiting clarification from the Dept. on what they call a ‘set line’. I’m hoping it means any unattended fishing line.
Caller Jacqueline was delighted when I caught this moorhen that she’d seen limping and struggling to swim. Jacqui had told me that something appeared to be hanging from the bird’s leg. This sounded like a typical fishing line entanglement; an injury that would ultimately amputate the bird’s foot unless freed. But I wasn’t prepared for what we found when I caught the creature. It was indeed an engagement and it was serious, but it wasn’t fishing line, it was human hair!
Over the years I’ve caught thousands of wild birds with their limbs wrapped tightly in fishing line or in string, cotton or plastic. I’ve caught them with bottle rings around their neck, hair ties over their bill and plastic shopping bags over their head. Of all the detritus that we’re dumping into the environment I’ve never seen human hair cutting into a bird’s ankle! Fortunately the wrap of strands was easily cut and lifted from the wound which was then doused in iodine and the bird released. It’ll be sore for a while but in no time he’ll be strutting around trying to impress the hot chicks with his new swagger.
Followers of the WBRGC Facebook page know about Ella, the little pelican that I rescued a week ago from a quarry lake in Jacobs Well. Ella was first seen stumbling down the Stapleton-Jacobs Well Road with big haulage trucks thundering past. The caller said that he could see yellow fishing line all over her body. He also said she was unable to fly but many years experience have taught me to take that with a grain of salt.
It’s a long drive to Jacobs Well and by the time I arrived Ella had made it into one of the many lakes in the area. That changed the game completely. I had to negotiate with two quarries to gain access to the closest lakes. Then I purloined a kayak from a local worker. Just getting it to the water and launching was difficult and caused a few injuries but finally I was able to set off in search of the bird. At one point I got a quick look at her from the other side of an impassable embankment. This was enough to confirm that fishing line was wrapped tightly around her bill meaning she had no hope of eating. Clearly Ella’s situation was urgent. I was working in a very difficult environment and I lost her for the next two hours. Then from a hillock I spotted a pelican swimming slowly away about a kilometer off in the distance. It was almost certainly Ella. I portaged the kayak and continued the chase on water. Half an hour paddling got me close enough to confirm that it was her. I hoped that she wasn’t flight capable and wondered how the hell I was going to catch and drag her aboard the unstable boat.
Upon approach I could see five meters of fishing line trailing behind. This was a real bonus. The rest of the line was wrapped around the bill and body preventing her from getting fully airborne. I flew her several times until she was worn out and then slid the kayak quietly up behind and got my hands on the trailing line. She was pulled in and heaved aboard, then began the long, slow paddle back to the quarry. It was a great relief knowing that Ella now had a chance.
Ella has been in hospital for six days and despite a life threatening injury to the tendons of her left wing, plus weight loss and anaemia, she’s doing surprisingly well. I’ll continue to post Facebook updates on her progress and with luck and good care we might see her back in the air in the coming weeks. Go Ella!
Once again my deepest gratitude to supporters of Wild Bird Rescues GOLD COAST, especially to Paul and Liz on the committee and to generous donors like Jim Downs, Denise and Marlene from Animal Allies and everyone who makes it possible for me to rescue sick and injured birds seven days a week.
Rowley
President WBRGC
PS. If you would like to help please click on the Donations tab at the top of this page.