Some St. Albert citizens helped save the life of a great blue heron last week.
A juvenile great blue heron was seen strutting about St. Albert earlier this month with what appeared to be a net or fishing line wrapped around its bill. Nature-lovers raised concerns that the bird was in distress and could starve if the net was not removed.
Dale Gienow, executive director of the WILDNorth wildlife rescue service, said he started getting calls about the heron on Oct. 1. Several people tried to catch it, but it would fly away as soon as anyone got close. He asked residents to call him if they spotted the bird in a place where they could corner it.
That happened at about 1 p.m. on Oct. 9 when residents Jill Day and Judy Ham encountered the bird underneath the St. Albert Trail bridge over the Sturgeon River while on their daily walk. They were able to get within three feet of it – highly unusual for such a skittish species.
“We were really kind of thrilled we could get so close to it,” said Day.
Noticing the net and concerned for the bird’s health, Day and Ham called WILDNorth. Gienow arrived soon after. By that time, the heron had wandered about 70 feet east of the bridge on the south shore.
Surveying the scene from the north shore, Gienow said he told Day and Ham that he might be able to catch the bird if it went back under the bridge.
“I hardly got that out of my mouth when the bird walks 70 feet and ends up under the bridge!” he said.
Gienow said he grabbed his salmon nets from his car and ran across the bridge, where he spotted a young red-shirted bystander named Kevin (whom the Gazette was not able to reach for an interview). He handed Kevin a net and asked him to approach the bird from the west as he moved in from the east.
The heron took flight toward Kevin, who accidentally knocked it to the ground with his net when he tried to catch it. The bird retreated eastward, where Gienow captured it and removed what turned out to be a clump of garden netting wrapped around its long, pointy bill.
WILDNorth staffers held the bird overnight at their treatment centre for observation. The bird appeared healthy, if hungry, and ate about 30 fish.
Gienow released the bird on the shores of the Sturgeon near the BLESS Summer Nature Centre cabin at about noon on Oct. 10. The heron sprinted out of its black fabric carrier the instant it was unzipped and winged westward. It was later seen preening itself on the Sturgeon’s north shore near Sturgeon Point Villas.
Day said she and Ham were glad they helped save this animal’s life.
“We all had big smiles on our face.”
While great blue herons are relatively commonplace around the Sturgeon, Gienow said that they are rare patients at WILDNorth, representing maybe three of the roughly 3,000 animals they treat a year.
Gienow said this bird probably got trapped by this net after it speared an errant piece of trash, and urged residents to properly secure their garbage.
“This poor fellow, had we not been able to catch it and get (the net) off its beak, probably would have met its demise.”
Gienow said a video of the heron’s release would soon be posted to the WILDNorth Facebook page.
Residents who spot wildlife in distress in the Edmonton region should call WILDNorth at 780-914-4118.
