Wednesday, November 22, 2000
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Wednesday, November 22, 2000 |
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For a snagged great blue heron, a great rescue
By PAT NEWMAN
Answering a morning phone call triggered a chain of events for Marie Schlosser that still has her marveling at the magnitude of human generosity. Late last month, Schlosser was leaving her home overlooking Lake Peachtree for a day crowded with appointments when the telephone rang. She dashed back in to pick up and, from her bedroom window, suddenly caught sight of what appeared to be a great blue heron dangling helplessly from a tree about 60 feet in midair. "I hung up the phone and ran outside to tell my husband, Rick, who was raking leaves," Schlosser said. "The bird was flying upside down with one wing in small circles." The Schlossers summoned help from their neighbors Hans and Carolyn Wurche, Ed Holland and a trio of walkers that, as luck would have it, included Jacque Solsvig, a board member of the Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Grantville. According to Schlosser, the group determined that the bird was entangled in something that they later discovered to be an abandoned kite string. "The string was about 60 feet above ground between two trees, and the bird was at least 50 feet from the nearest tree," she said. The trees were in a densely wooded and marshy area near the lake, making it impossible for a fire truck, ladders or any type of equipment to reach the struggling bird, Schlosser explained. It was also becoming clear to the group that the bird was growing weary and could not free itself. A team from the Fayette County Animal Shelter, headed by its director, Bill Newman, was summoned to the scene in the event the bird did break loose, but that would not happen. The Schlossers contacted David Meadows of White-Meadows Tree Service, who was working nearby at Planterra Ridge. He arrived with employee Luke Muller, a tree-climbing expert who was able to scale the tree and, after some tedious searching for the string and a trip up the second tree, was able to release the bird and lower it into a waiting blanket. "It took almost an hour to locate the end of the string," Schlosser said. The entire process took about four hours, she estimated, from the time she first spotted the trapped heron. Once the bird was on the ground, animal control transported the bird to the Animal Medical Clinic in Peachtree City, where it was examined by Dr. Erica Runkle, recognized as a bird specialist. Solsvig arranged for the bird to be cared for at Second Chance. "This was their fist great blue heron," Schlosser said. "He was housed in their flight pen and supplied with fresh fish by Mack McCollum, owner of a local feed store, who fished for the heron every day. Solsvig picked up the fish and cared for the bird, changing its water and monitoring its recovery," Schlosser continued. Its stay at Second Chance was expected to be about two months, but in just 10 days, Schlosser said, she was notified that the heron was fit to fly and was on its way back to Lake Peachtree for release. The original rescue team reassembled for the bird's homecoming and watched as it took off, sailing easily over the dock and trees. "He really did get a second chance," Schlosser concluded.
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