#ardea herodias
Yesterday, myself and another ornithologist recovered the dead body of an adult black-crowned night-heron from City Park in Denver, CO. The bird’s foot was tangled in discarded fishing line that was then wound around a tree branch in a rookery. Based on the bird being unable to leave the tree branch, it died slowly, unable to get free.
This morning I went to Belmar Park in Lakewood, CO to photograph birds. I found fishing line in the mouth of an adult great blue heron that had just brought a meal of fish to its nestlings. Worse yet, I found a double-crested cormorant, tangled in fishing line, hanging dead from a tree in the rookery.
Improperly discarded fishing line kills birds in terrible ways. It’s not just an issue in an ocean far away, or in fishing towns, it’s an issue right in your local parks.
Please properly account for and dispose of fishing line and encourage others to be responsible as well. Life is hard enough for wild animals, don’t make it that much harder.
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Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
The Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias (Pelecaniformes - Ardeidae), is the largest of the North American herons. Though very common and widespread from Canada to north of South America, find these herons is always a majestic sight, specially when they mate, such as this male displaying.
Displays include stretching neck up with bill pointing skyward, flying in circles above colony with neck extended, stretching neck forward with head and neck feathers erected and then snapping bill shut.
Despite their impressive size (up to 137 cm in length and up to 201 cm in wingspan), Great Blue Herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones (a feature all birds share).
Photo credit: ©Ryan Bennett | Locality: Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida, US (2007)
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