What a Day
Blimey, what a day. We took the dogs for a walk with the kids this morning to a local nature reserve where guys fish. We walked for a bit then saw a coot tangled up in fishing wire on the end of a crack willow that was hanging right out into the lake. It was wriggling and squirming and couldn't get loose. We asked a fisherman if we could borrow a net to get it back, but it wasn't long enough. Then a ranger came by and he was too old to do anything. He fetched a grappling hook and we threw it out to crack the willow and release the bird. Didn't work, the grappling hook got caught in the tree and we couldn't get it back. Nobody could do anything. So I took off my jacket, put my wallet and phone in the pockets and jumped in. It was freezing and completely took my breath away. My heart began to pound in my chest and my breath became very short, it felt as though I was being squashed. I swam out as the current started to pull me away and I grabbed onto a length of willow, which snapped and I had to kick hard to keep afloat. Eventually I got to the poor bird and pulled on the willow and it snapped. Then I had to go back to release the grappling hook.
When I finally got back to shore, all one local could say was how stupid it was to jump in and save a "life". I couldn't care if it was a mouse, rat or human, all have lives and that bird was there because of the fishermans stupidity and not securing his line.
We took the bird to a nearby rangers hut and had to cut off its hanging foot, the whole foot had simply come away and was hanging by a piece of flesh, my wife being an animal expert made sure it was clean and was a good cut. We let the coot go in the water and it swam away lovely to a small island. My fingers are now crossed that it can survive, at least it's spring.
After all that I eventually got home freezing and shivering, had a warm bath and my skin changed colours like David Ickes reptilian shapeshifters.
The moral of the story, please please fishermen, look after your lines, the birds don't see them hanging in trees and floating in water.
When I finally got back to shore, all one local could say was how stupid it was to jump in and save a "life". I couldn't care if it was a mouse, rat or human, all have lives and that bird was there because of the fishermans stupidity and not securing his line.
We took the bird to a nearby rangers hut and had to cut off its hanging foot, the whole foot had simply come away and was hanging by a piece of flesh, my wife being an animal expert made sure it was clean and was a good cut. We let the coot go in the water and it swam away lovely to a small island. My fingers are now crossed that it can survive, at least it's spring.
After all that I eventually got home freezing and shivering, had a warm bath and my skin changed colours like David Ickes reptilian shapeshifters.
The moral of the story, please please fishermen, look after your lines, the birds don't see them hanging in trees and floating in water.
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