EDITOR – I took this bad quality photo of a heron which apparently got a bag in its mouth and is getting weaker by the day.
My husband and I went to the beach on Wednesday night, 11 February after 6pm and I took photos not knowing it was a bag, when someone in a Landrover stopped by us to ask if I got a photo of the bird, as he said he’d been watching it for a few days.
Can you inform the right people to go and investigate? It is at Warner Beach at the lagoon.
GERTY HUYSAMEN
Ed’s note: Thank you for letting us know about the heron.
We notified the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) in Yellowwood Park and they responded the same day by sending a team out to assess and monitor the bird.
According to their spokesman, Paul Hoyte: “We are monitoring the situation and have people reporting sightings. It is unclear whether the plastic or rag caught on its beak is hindering its ability to eat. If it is, the heron will get progressively weaker, making it easier to catch. Our team and volunteers spent most of the day there and have been through again since, but the heron is very wary of people and will not let us get close enough to catch him. He is still strong and flying without a problem.”
This incident clarifies exactly why littering is a bigger problem than litterbugs realise when they shamelessly cast aside their rubbish without thought of how it impacts anyone or anything else.
