Birds in Helping Hands

10/16/2026

This rescue took some mad skills

I had the pleasure to join Linette Ratay on kayaks to look for a pelican with a fishing lure attached.

We spotted him in the mangroves. He flew off twice but landed for a third time in the same spot.

Linette kayaked below him, talked to him and he was mesmerized. He got distracted by me and in an instant Linette got her net over him, not easy to do while balancing in a kayak, and held him until we could get him out and into our pop up laundry basket.

He went to Beth Weir our pelican expert and she was able to remove the lure in his neck.

10/15/2026

10/14/2026

10/13/2026

So many rescues today

Linette Ratay resoonded to a peahen that was hit in Tampa. I went to find a chicken that had been roaming a neighborhood for sometime. Also picked up a tern from George Byrd he retrieved from Honeymoon Island.

Linette and I met up to rescue an anghinga with fabric on her beak. After Linette castnetted the bird the callers asked if we knew someone who could take some young chickens they found.

Just so happened Beth Weir was looking for chickens. Ask and you shall receive.

Off Linette went to Bradenton to drop off the tern, anghinga and now four chickens.

I went off to Tampa for an injured baby duck, an adult duck and then an injured racoon.

Thomas O'Connor rescued a snake that was stuck in duct tape. Picked up a baby squirrel and young dove.

Also another anghinga Peter picked up.

10/12/2026

Birds trapped in the eye of Isaias will stay in the calmer eye until the storm moves inland and it is safe for them to disperse!