By Jana Singletary
Saturday, January 2, 2010 - Phil and I took Braden, age 5, to Denison Dam today in search of Eagles. Instead we were shocked and saddened to find a Great Blue Heron in a very desperate situation. It had been snagged by several lures on a fishing line that dangled down from a power line over the river. We watched in horror as the heron struggled unsuccessfully to free himself.
As we watched, a fisherman kept throwing rocks in an attempt to break the line. To our amazement, the line finally snapped, and the bird plunged into the river. It managed to swim to shore, but it was obvious that it was badly injured. The fisherman attempted to get close enough to help the bird but quit when he saw that the bird was becoming more stressed by his efforts.
I called my daughter Kim, who located a wildlife rehab organization in Dallas. After some good advice from them and volunteers Michael and Grace Haight at Hagerman NWR, I contacted a local expert, Steve Armstrong, Grayson County Wildlife Rehabilitation, who quickly rescued the injured heron and transported it to a rehab facility. Hopefully they'll be able to save the bird. It was the best possible ending to a very stressful day.
As we watched, a fisherman kept throwing rocks in an attempt to break the line. To our amazement, the line finally snapped, and the bird plunged into the river. It managed to swim to shore, but it was obvious that it was badly injured. The fisherman attempted to get close enough to help the bird but quit when he saw that the bird was becoming more stressed by his efforts.
I called my daughter Kim, who located a wildlife rehab organization in Dallas. After some good advice from them and volunteers Michael and Grace Haight at Hagerman NWR, I contacted a local expert, Steve Armstrong, Grayson County Wildlife Rehabilitation, who quickly rescued the injured heron and transported it to a rehab facility. Hopefully they'll be able to save the bird. It was the best possible ending to a very stressful day.
Photo of Great Blue Heron taken by Becky Goodman at Hagerman NWR.
Editors Note: This episode underlines the importance of taking lines and lures home, not leaving them to snare or hook waterfowl and other creatures. Metal can tabs and the plastic loops that hold six-packs are other common hazards to wildlife. Please, please, pay attention to the adage, in nature, leave behind nothing but your footprints!
A source of information re injured wildlife is http://www.dfwwildlife.org/. For more information about Hagerman NWR see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html, and for information about programs and activities at the Refuge, see http://www.friendsofhagerman.com.
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We have learned that due to multiple injuries the heron had to be euthanized. We appreciate all the rescue efforts and emphasize that the bird was spared perhaps days of suffering through your efforts.
ReplyDeleteTexas Parks & Wildlife has a recovery and recycling program for monofilament fishing line.
ReplyDeletehttp://mrrp.tamu.edu