Fish Story
How about another fish story? This one involves a bird.
I was fishing for stripers with Bill Z. in a local area and noticed a disturbance on the water surface. I could see the double yellow buoys that mark a gill net and noticed a large bird about 10 feet away from them. While getting closer, I could see a Common loon was struggling in the net. We watched for a bit and determined that it was unable to free itself.
I have handled some loons before and decided to rescue it. In early 1980 I began working for Virginia Tech as a wildlife field technician. I became involved in a study that gave me the opportunity to handle several species of raptors. I applied and received a license to band birds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and ran a banding station for several years in Virginia.
During my banding apprenticeship, I gained a lot of experience with long legged wading birds such as egrets and herons. I also did a fair share of work with other waterfowl species equipped with long necks and dangerous beaks.
Experience with loons usually came after major rain storms during migration. I would get calls to rescue grebes, loons, and cormorants from large parking lots. Apparently, the wet lots looked like lakes to confused birds and they attempted to land to escape the storm. These particular bird species need to run along the water to gain enough speed for flight. On land they can barely walk so they were grounded for good without help. Those that survived their landing would get banded and released into local waterways.
In addition, for years I practiced picking/untangling hundreds of birds out of a mist net that I used for capture, which is similar to picking fish out of a gill net.
I was ready for this loon!
Upon approach I quickly grabbed the bird and secured it while Bill untangled it. We freed it from the net rather quickly and released it. It did not hang around and instantly dove out of site. It surfaced farther out and appeared healthy. It did not fly but was very strong when released. We went on to catch a few fish and called it a good day for all of us.
Contact me if you are interested in booking a charter and hearing more fish stories!❞