I was called out to rescue a galah which appeared stuck in the fork of a gum tree on the edge of one of the lakes in Mooroopna yesterday. I was over in Echuca picking a baby Cuckoo Shrike up when I received the call but did quick drop off the baby bird and made my way straight in as it had apparently been stuck since at least the day before. When I arrived, the bird was definitely stuck and once I viewed it through the telephoto lens of my camera, I discovered it was stuck in fishing line which was wrapped around not just one but two branches. The bird was pretty high, at a guess, somewhere between 10-15 metres. I had my old extension ladder in back of ute so but realised that my usual method of cable tying my extendable net poles together and reaching the bird that way, was not going to work. Just reaching the bird was no good cos there was no way I was going to be able to dislodge it without cutting the line and actually holding onto the bird while the line was cut so it wouldnt fly off with it still wrapped around its leg. After a few phone calls finally an emergency response call to the local cfa was made and the Mooroopna cfa arrived. They had a ladder which was long enough to reach the bird but their safety protocols did not allow them to climb up and they certainly wouldnt let me do it. After tying all my pole nets together and climbing up the ladder without extending it, we managed to cut the line off the main branch with a knife attached to the end of poles. At this stage, I had been out there for hours!! The fire crew was called out to a fire and suddenly I was on my own again and still the poor bird was no closer to being safe in my hands on the ground. I called a local tree lopper and to my relief, Andrew came within about 10 minutes! He had assured me over the phone that he could definitely help me out and brought a cherry picker type machine and backed right up to the tree. One of his crew took my gear up and listened to my instructions on how to get the poor bird down. He was having a bit of trouble so I yelled up to him to just break the whole branch off. He did a wonderful job and broke the branch and quickly covered the bird bringing branch, bird and all back to the ground. We quickly cut the galah free from the branch and I wrapped him in a towel cos I could see that the poor fellow had broken his leg trying to get free for the last two days. Straight back to the shelter where I cut all the remaining line off his leg and foot. It was wrapped very tightly EVERYWHERE! I put a splint on his fracture and one very relieved bird is now here beginning his rehab. I was able to set the fracture in place well but it always depends on how they set to what the future will hold. Yet again, the dangers of fishing line, hooks and sinkers. The whole tree was littered with different lines stuck on many branches. Because it is right on the edge of the lake, my guess is kids cast their lines right under the tree as its in the shade, and many get their lines caught and just pull until it snaps, leaving the remaining line there. I saw a hook and sinker from a branch and one piece we were able to reach to remove actually had the very fine end of a fishing rod attached to it !! More birds and critters will get stuck in this tree if it is not cleaned up. Many thanks to Mooroopna Cfa, who did their best to help and a huge HUGE thank you to Andrew and Shannon from Andrew Cuthbert Tree Service who were so quick to help and provided their services for free. I cannot thank Andrew enough. Also thank you to Caz, who reported to me that the galah was in serious trouble. If Caz had not called, this little bird may not have made it.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 12:41:46 +0000
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