On a Sunday in mid-July, boaters on Lake Wylie in South Carolina noticed a large creature struggling in the branches of a tall tree. A Good Samaritan dialed the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue (CWR) wildlife hotline, hoping someone there would know what to do.
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue
“Caller is caring and wants to help,” Carolina Waterfowl Rescue posted to Facebook. “But there doesn’t seem to be any way to place a ladder there to retrieve the bird.”
The bird, identified as a great blue heron, dangled about 30 feet in the air.
“Great blue [herons] roost in tall trees at night,” Jennifer Gordon, executive director at CWR, told The Dodo. “So we believe he went up into the tree at night to roost, and when he flew out in the morning, he was stuck.”
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue
Gordon said that normally her organization’s volunteer rescue group responds to these calls. But on that Sunday, no one was available. Gordon appealed to CWR’s Facebook followers for help. “We usually only do that as a last resort,” she said.
The great blue heron was in luck. Angie Vanhoy, director of rehabilitation at CWR, chose to spend that day, her day off, at a friend’s house on Lake Wylie. That friend happened to be Robert “Birdman” Kirwan, founder of Free Spirit Parrot Sanctuary. Kirwan had a double-decker pontoon boat, so he and Vanhoy arrived at the scene by water.
“I’ve had to do rescues before,” Vanhoy told The Dodo, “but not dangling from a tree like that.”
The heron hung out over the lake, which meant a ladder was out of the question. The rescuers tried cutting the line holding the bird hostage by using an extendable polesaw while standing on the pontoon. When that didn’t work, the team again asked their Facebook followers if anyone was willing to climb the tree to save the bird.
Much to Vanhoy’s relief, one of CWR’s snake relocation volunteers offered to scale the tree. “I’m not a tree climber,” she said, laughing. “I’m scared of heights.”
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue
Since the heron’s precarious location made it impossible for the volunteer to cut the fishing line from the tree, the team decided to break the branch. Vanhoy said that as the branch broke, the heron fell and tried to fly, but couldn’t get far because of the line. Swinging a few feet above the water, the team finally managed to cut the line, and he tumbled into the lake. Vanhoy jumped in, grabbed the heron and whisked him up onto the pontoon boat.
“I removed the fishing line that was all wrapped around him and then got him transported to Carolina Waterfowl Rescue,” Vanhoy said. She instructed the medical team at CWR to give him fluids — he was dangerously dehydrated — and then let him relax for the night. After such a terrifying ordeal, he needed time to decompress before Vanhoy would do a full exam.
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue
The next morning, Vanhoy discovered the bird was suffering from a dislocated leg and some cuts from the fishing line. The team treated the leg, and the heron is getting tons of nutrition, medication and fluids to keep him healthy while the inflammation subsides.
“He’s been through quite an ordeal,” Gordon said. “He’s very quiet. He definitely knows we’re helping him.”
Vanhoy makes it a point to stop by each morning to check on the heron. “I’ve gotten really attached to him,” she said. “He seems like he’s okay and he’s stable … he lets me know that he doesn’t want me in his space, but he understands.”
Todd Ryburn Photography/Getty Images
Eventually, the great blue heron will start physical therapy, before he is released back into the wild.