A late afternoon call to Australian Seabird Rescue from a holiday maker at
Manyana regarding an injured bird on the beach prompted action. We were 2 hours
away and it would've been dark by the time we got there so Wildlife Rescue was contacted.
Thankfully they had a member who lived close and he headed out to get the bird.
In the meantime I contacted the lady to throw a towel over the bird to prevent
him going back in the surf. So the bird was rescued - fishing line untangled
and an overnight stay with Wildlife Rescue. Julie and I went down the next
morning to collect him. He still had 2 large hooks in his wing so we brought
him home - removed the hooks and kept him in care for a couple of days to ensure
he had 100% use of his wing.
With a clean bill of health he was released back into the wild. The ASR
"mermaids" went into the
surf to ensure he kept going and after about an hour of preening and getting
the human smell off him he took to the sky.
Welcome to ASR Kate, seen here with Julie in the surf - all in the line of
duty eh? Both girls down to their knickers to make sure the bird got away OK. I
was very brave and stood on the beach taking photos. A big thanks to Wildlife
Rescue for their help. It's great to be able to work with other groups to save
our wildlife.
A magnificent bird, the Gannet is a pelagic seabird that spends all its time
at sea except for breeding. So this fellow, even though far from land, has had
an awful experience with mankind due to careless fishing practise but
thankfully the story has a good ending.
Betty
