It is not good to shy away from these issues, and although disheartening and sad, seeing wildlife in distress, trapped by person-made materials, makes us think and ultimately change our ways.
This one was almost too much for me- a kittiwake- my favourite species of seabird- caught in rope and hanging from Bird Rock, Cape St. Mary's. I knew there was no way of getting at the bird, though it was so easy to see.
The chain of events is an interesting one:
1. Rope used in commercial fishing nets is thrown overboard or lost at sea (note the green rope above the kittiwake).
2. Northern Gannets gather rope and incorporate into nest.
3. Kittiwake becomes entangled.
Thankfully the gull only lasted the night.
The upside to this story is that with the downturn of many fisheries in coastal Atlantic Canada, one sees less rope in the gannet nests than before. The green rope you see in the image was incorporated many years ago.
Thanks John for sharing this. I think maybe we at BPN should design a booklet to illustrate these issues faced by wildlife - not that something like that is not already out there - and distribute to places, tourist info centers, wildlife parks etc. Making people aware is what counts. Education is what counts and we can and should look at avenues to educate the people in our world. Thanks for your time.
Very sad that we see brutal things in nature. I spend a lot of time paddling in the gulf and atlantic along south florida's shorelines. I always have a knife with me and make it a point to remove fishing line, rope, etc when I get a chance. If you ever see fishing line anywhere, please pick up and dispose of properly. Often, there are special containers located in sites where people are found (marinas, docks, etc).
A sad sight indeed but, incidentally, very well photographed. Your composition really tells the entire story. The viewer can almost feel the bird's distress. I'm glad you shared this with us.
Wow, John, that is a powerful photograph. I can certainly see how it was almost too much to take...glad to hear that less of this rope seems to be floating around.
Although it did not cause the death of another bird at the time, while at Bonaventure Island in June, we saw a gannet arriving at a nest with an electrical cord, plug included!