Catch and Release - Bird style

[5crows]

True story. Happened to me in Colorado not Minnesota, but worth sharing.

Marie, her son and I went on a camping trip on Cottonwood Pass by Mt Yale (one of the Collegiate Peaks north of Salida and south of Leadville) and were fishing Chalk Creek above the Hot Springs. While out scouting the back roads by Mt Princeton, we came across a big clear pond full of rising fish, with bigger rainbows laying off the shore, some cruising around the pond offshore. Didn't take long for Paul to decide we needed to go get the poles to fish there.

Across the pond, a Raven was hopping along and doing short hop flights. I noticed he seemed injured and decided to get a closer look. He let me get close, which was a sure sign something was up.

I sat down on the bank and he hopped closer like he was begging food. Close enough to where I could see mono wrapped around both feet with several lead sinkers dangling from a few loose loops in the mono.

Fast forward, I got a hotdog bun and started baiting him with pieces. He was hungry and off his game. Probably hanging out by the pond for survival; either catching injured fish, eating dead fish, maybe fish guts left around the pond, or begging from campers and anglers like me to keep from starving.

He was weak, if starteled he could fly a short line over the water, but he didnt try to cross it, couldn't get any elevation and he quickly landed. He didn't mind if you approached him again either.

I was likely not the first to try to catch him, but do enjoy a challenge. I tried sitting and the 'toss him a snack' trick used on camp robbers, no luck. No way would he get in arms reach, he had already figured out human range. He would hop in in close enough to get outlying baits, but no way would he cross the line that ensured his escape should I try to move fast.

Finally, either he knew he got all the treats he was getting or he tired of the silly two legged feeder and flew a short distance away from the pond, landing on the floor of a small foot bridge, along one edge, but still within sight where he continued to scope me out. Now it got fun.

I slowly walked over to the far side of the bridge which was just tall enough to let me think I could sneak under it. He stayed put as we had our standoff and studied each other.

I was wearing a hat and put it on the brige's bottom rail to try to keep his attention diverted as I ducked under the bridge. I carefully and quietly snuck the few steps (raven still hunt) expecting him to figure out the diversion and take off.

Still crouching, I got positioned for a quick look and the big move. To my surprise I looked up to see the ravens hind parts within reach. He was still standing there, I guess studying my hat. I grabbed his butt and tail feathers and things got way exciting real fast, other worldly exciting. A surprised raven is a big wild bird.

What a ruckus, wings flapping, feet raking, screaming, I held on and got his wings confined, holding him away from me as I brought him back to the big pond while being raven bit, cursed in raven talk, and getting literally chewed out.

Marie and Paul were laughing but in awe seeing me carrying him back to the pond . I sat down and took a look at the fish line wrapped tightly around his legs and feet, one so tight his toes were swollen, the other not so bad. Marie had a fingernail clippers on her and that was to be the surgical instrument.

Paul shed his shirt and wrapped it over Mr.Midnight's head and wings to better confine him, quiet him down and stop his biting my arms and hands. Paul had him kind of held, my adrenaline rush was subsiding and I moved around to start unraveling and snipping away the line with the fingernail clippers. They worked pretty good, maybe his foot was numb. I was able to quickly get most line removed but had to dig and snip the tight wraps off which got him raking again. I finally felt the job was close enough to done and I pulled off the shirt as Paul let him loose to fly off and up this time.

Marie got a few pictures of me trying to catch him, then with him in my hands and before the release to set him free started. She made into a 3 picture sequence picture frame. I still have the string and sinkers somewhere around.

Long story, but kind of has a point. Birds suffer slow deaths from carelessly discarded fishing line. Osprey, eagles, ravens, ducks, geese, all suffer injuries and can die slow deaths tangled in discarded line. Ask any Raptor Rescue about it.

I also freed a baby Canadian Goose last summer on a vacation at Indiana Beach, but thats a different story. Same problem but this time had two irate parents and a big brother to deal with after we cornered the little guy, still in goose down.

That rescue took me, an ex-Marine, and a Korean war vet to get the job done and do the fishing line removal.

In hindsight it was too funny, but on the ground at the time, with mom and pop goose hissin' and honkin mad, threatening to charge us, it was hectic. Baby goose was not the only one [PoorWordUsage]!

Rescues are rare and are not the normal end. Gather up the discarded line and put it in a pocket until you can properly dispose of it.

[flyfisher03]

Thanks for sharing.

I had a similar incident a few weeks ago a friend came over to my apartment and she was frantic. There was a robin that I assume was building a nest.

Well it got string tangled around one foot and the other end was tangled on a small twig, so it was tethered in place.

We grabbed a towel and wrapped it around it as carefully as possible and cut the string off of the leg and the twig and released it.

Pretty cool to see a bird fly out of your hand after a quick rescue like that.

[Jim Almquist]

Thanks for sharing your story with all of us.

[MN Shutterbug]

Fantastic story and a valuable reminder to fishermen. Also, welcome to HSO.

[micpic]

Great story and rescue!

Mike

[muc33]

Great story, and better yet, great reminder! Thanks!

[bobbymalone]

Great story and good work. Welcome to HSO!

It took a team of three of us to unhook a loon that got snagged by a fisherman on Lake Harriet in MPLS. I was the bird grabber and holder, a woman put her sweatshirt over the birds head, and another guy (thankfully) had a pair of knipex to snip the hook that was caught in the loon's breast.

Between a 10 minute fight that ruined an old guy's reel and the actual bird wrangling, We had an audience of close to 30 people that gave us an applause after the bird was released.

[5crows]

Should rename the post - Bird Wranglers - lol.

Sounds like there's a few of us with the skills.

Funny how something that weighs a couple ounces to a couple pounds can get your heart pumping, but I agree it feels good to watch them fly away. Envious, standing there with your feet on the ground and sweat on your brow.

Falconry had to have been a hoot!

[Sturg]

Great experience!

[EBass]

Good job 5Crows!

I've been involved with a hooked seagull that dive bombed a rapala. We got the hook out and set her free. DNR was watching us as they commented on that when checking our lics.