Firefighters rescued an injured cormorant yesterday at Oceanside Harbor after the bird became snarled in fishing line and was dangling upside down from a tree branch 40 to 50 feet off the ground.
Oceanside firefighter Bryan Howell climbed an extension ladder atop a fire truck to reach the bird, cutting it loose with a knife and wrapping it in a blanket before carrying it down to safety, said fire Engineer Garrett Safe.
Once on the ground, firefighters cut away the rest of the fishing line but were unable to remove a fishing hook from the bird’s leg, Safe said. Either due to exhaustion or injury, the bird was unable to fly away after the rescue, and it was picked up for treatment by San Diego Humane Society officers.
The rescue occurred about 9:45 a.m. at the northeast corner of the Oceanside Harbor.
The bird was taken to the humane society’s Oceanside campus, and later, a wildlife rescue team from SeaWorld San Diego picked it up for further care.