When it comes to helping stranded wildlife in need two of the most important factors are having kind-hearted folks who are willing to either help or find help and then the coordination of skilled organizations to each contribute what they do best. On this Sunday in Havre de Grace we were fortunate to witness these things come together in an incredible way. Susquehannock Wildlife Society received calls and messages from several members of the community that became aware of an osprey hanging from a nesting platform between Adams Chevrolet and Cecil Bank along Route 40. It was obvious that the bird of prey had something tangled around its leg that was preventing it from flying and kept it in a precarious situation.
Given the height of the bird we knew we couldn’t perform the rescue alone. Fortunately the Susquehanna Hose Company had generously dispatched a fire engine that would be able to safely reach the bird. They were able to send up a fireman to the location of the bird. Without any further complications, the bird was quickly freed from the platform and put into a carrier but was still tangled in the braided plastic rope that had ensnared it.
The fireman took the time to remove all of the remaining rope from the platform to prevent a future incident from occurring. Sadly it is common for birds to use human produced litter in their nests, sometimes causing situations like this to occur. This highlights the need to properly dispose of waste so that it doesn’t end up negatively impacting wildlife.
John Blake, a member of the Susquehanna Hose Company and his wife Jennifer Schiavone-Blake, a Baltimore City Fire Department paramedic and animal enthusiast, arrived and worked with Harford County Animal Control and Maryland Natural Resources Police to transfer the osprey into an animal transport carrier until Susquehannock Wildlife Society’s Scott McDaniel and Emily Bueche could arrive to help.
With the assistance of Jennifer Schiavone-Blake, we removed the remaining rope from the osprey’s leg and did our best to inspect its condition while looking for any visible injuries.
We were surprised to find that it didn’t have any marks from the rope and all of its feathers appeared intact despite its struggle. We called Master Wildlife Rehabilitator Kathy Woods from our partner organization, Phoenix Wildlife Center, who agreed with our initial assessment to attempt to release the osprey and observe its behavior. Our plan was to get a sense on whether it was strong enough to remain in the wild or required further human intervention before it could be released.
Unfortunately the osprey showed signs that it was either internally injured or at the very least, too weak from being stranded for so long that it couldn’t readily fly. We all agreed to recapture the bird and Maryland Natural Resources Police Officer Milburn transported it to Phoenix Wildlife Center for proper care and treatment until it was strong enough to be released back into the wild.
This was a perfect example of caring people coming together to help our local wildlife. The rescue started with Brandon Simms and Robert Knopp who initially spotted the osprey in distress while driving down Route 40 and then started reaching out to try to find assistance. Then a soldier from Aberdeen Proving Ground noticed the bird and joined the other gentlemen to help contact local agencies that could help including the Susquehanna Hose Company, Harford County Animal Control, Maryland Natural Resources Police and our organization, Susquehannock Wildlife Society, who was luckily nearby packing up from an all-day event by the Havre de Grace waterfront. All of these groups will often refer each other to help out wildlife in different situations but in this unique case ended up working together to offer this osprey a helping hand and get it transported to receive proper care at Phoenix Wildlife Center.
UPDATE: Report from Phoenix Wildlife Center this morning was that the 1st year female was doing better, and was being given anti-inflammatory meds to help with her swollen leg
