17 July, 2007
Some Days I Don't Like My Commute So Much
Seagull Chick #1: 17 July, 2007 (Fasten your seatbelts, there's a rant coming...)
Originally uploaded by Planet Vicster.
Here's one of the chicks near the Alameda ferry dock. I almost didn't recognize them, they're looking so much like seagulls and less like big fuzzballs now!
I grabbed my camera and switched to my 70-300mm lens and started shooting and then noticed this guy was hopping rather oddly. I trained my lens on the chick and noticed it's foot is caught in some sort of fishing line (or something man-made) and that its other foot seems to also be injured. I tried to think of anything I could do to help the bird, but even if I COULD get down there, I had nothing to try to cut the wire off with and, as big as this guy is, it looked like a two-person job (or one person with a towel or a net). So I phoned the Alameda Police dispatch to get an animal control officer out and waited...unfortunately, I had to get on the ferry before Animal Control showed up, so I phoned the dispatch again to pinpoint exactly where I was standing, so hopefully the officer found the bird and was able to help (the tide was high this afternoon so I couldn't see where the chicks were).
It broke my heart to see this bird tangled in this fishing line! One of the parents brought food for the chicks, but this poor guy couldn't hop over to where the food was and went hungry! That this bird suffered for EVEN ONE MINUTE due to the carelessness of humans makes me so angry I can barely see!
And no, the irony is not lost on me that the adult and the other chick appear to have been eating a discarded sandwich...
Labels: ferry commuting, ranting, seagull chick
~~ victoria on 7:21 PM ~~ 0 comments
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