Long-tailed duck.Photo: David Lavigne
The bird in the photo is a young male long-tailed duck, molting into his first summer breeding plumage—and he is almost certainly doomed.[teaserbreak]
The long-tailed duck is a species of waterfowl that nests in the Arctic and subarctic, mostly above the treeline, and spends winters along our northern coastlines and in the Great Lakes. But, the photograph was taken in early May on the shore of Lake Huron. Most of the rest of his kind were well on their way to the tundra. Also, as the photographer, marine mammal biologist David Lavigne, noted at the time, it’s unusual to see one standing and not swimming out on the open water. But, David is a gifted bird photographer and a biologist; most folks are neither and so would not see what is really happening.
Top: Wing not functioning properly.Bottom: Fishing line around wing.
Photos: David Lavigne
As the second photo shows, one wing is not functioning properly. The bird can’t stretch it. And, as the third photo (an enlargement) shows, the bird is entangled in a monofilament fishing line.
The location is hundreds of kilometers from where I live and work, but I am trying to orchestrate rescue (while knowing it’s probably futile). The duck can dive and catch food, and there are vast numbers of zebra mussels and round gobies—two non-native aquatic species—to eat. So, he may survive and stay healthy enough to escape would-be rescuers, possibly for weeks. And, no one can take indefinite time off to try to save this one unfortunate creature—including those of us trying to save large numbers of animals in an endless struggle against our species’ indifferent abuses.
The monofilament will last a long time, slowly tightening around the bird and possibly cutting off circulation to the wing. Sunlight degrades monofilament (assuming that is what the line is), but slowly. And, on this bird, most of the line is protected from direct sunlight by the bird’s feathers.
This is a bird who can’t fulfill his most basic instincts. He can’t fly; he can’t properly preen (birds have to preen to stay healthy and spend a lot of time at it); and his diving and swimming are compromised (to keep warm, his plumage has to be smoothly intact in the water).
He is yet another victim of this cruel sport: the only one in which enjoyment is in direct ratio to how much an animal suffers. The longer a fish fights to live, the greater the fun. And, not all victims are fish.
Keep wildlife in the wild,
Barry