Last Friday, birders in Golden Gate Park spotted an injured gull with a fishing lure caught in its beak at Elk Glen Lake and Lloyd Lake. Since then, wildlife rescue workers have been trying to find the gull to offer it aid.
The gull was not spotted again, so rescuers hoped that perhaps it had shook free of the lure and was on the mend. But on Sunday around 11am, it was seen again still injured, this time at Stow Lake.
The lure could make it hard for the bird to feed and to preen, or clean its feathers, said Rebecca Dmytryk, a spokeswoman for WildRescue.
“Preening is extremely important for water birds, because if they don’t preen their feathers will let in the cold air and water, and they’ll die of hypothermia,” Dmytryk said.
WildRescue is the same organization that successfully captured and rehabilitated the Golden Gate Park hawk who had been shot through the beak with a nail gun last October.
Volunteers with WildRescue will try again today to locate and capture the injured gull. If you happen to see the bird, contact WildRescue right away at (415) 979-9700 and they will send out a trained volunteer to capture it.
Sarah B.
[via SFAppeal]