ike61095
Member
A seemingly normal bird photography day has turned into one of the most memorable moments of my life.
On the morning of October 29th. I was at a foothill forest in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, setting up my position for a shot of the Asian green bee-eaters when, an unsettling sight caught my attention. Just several meters behind me, there was a long net that hung from one tree to another. On it, there were two birds, an Asian green bee-eater and a White-throated kingfisher. Upon closer inspection, the bee-eater was already half rotten, while the kingfisher appeared motionless but very much alive.
To be honest, I was quite panic since I've never touched a bird before, let alone facing with such a situation. But I was quick to make up my mind and try to cut the poor kingfisher loose.
At first I use whatever sticks that I could gather from the surroundings; however, the net was quite resilient, and one stick after another broke. Frustrated, I opened my backpack and dig through everything to find some sharp object for the task ( I finally settle with the motorbike key).
Now, cutting the net was one thing, making the poor fella to corporate with me was another thing. Each time I made a cut, it twitched and turned violently, trying to free itself from the net only to be entangled in more thread. After some struggle, I was able to separate it from the net and lay it onto the ground. It then tried to fly away but couldn't, for I was unable to cut the final thread with my key for fear of harming the bird.
Therefore, I decided to put it in a plastic bag and rush it to my friend's house, with the hope of cutting the final thread and treating it from any possible injuries before setting it free. Furthermore, I figured that it was for the best that I move it as far away from this location as possible, since the presence of the bird net was a clear indication of trapper activities in the area.
Once at my friend's house, we hurriedly get the scissors and cut the thread. Turned out it was tightly wrap around the bird's belly. During the process, it seemed panicked and bit my friend's fingers several times, albeit with a weak force that caused no harm.
Finally, upon cutting the last thread, it flew away at once. We felt so relived and happy for it.
Note that I have no prior experience rescuing birds and such so I might have made many mistakes in the process. My only thought in my head at that time was setting it free as fast as possible for fear of its own health and the trapper's return. Thank you for making this far, this is my first post of this kind also, so feel free to give feedbacks.
p/s: they said a picture is worth a thousand words but in this case I think an action is worth more than a thousand pictures ( I came home without any image of the bee-eaters nor the kingfishers, but you bet I slept soundly that night).
Entagled and upside down
Free but grounded
Cutting the final thread
Free, 'No string attached'
Fly away and live another day lucky fella, I will miss you a lot!
On the morning of October 29th. I was at a foothill forest in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, setting up my position for a shot of the Asian green bee-eaters when, an unsettling sight caught my attention. Just several meters behind me, there was a long net that hung from one tree to another. On it, there were two birds, an Asian green bee-eater and a White-throated kingfisher. Upon closer inspection, the bee-eater was already half rotten, while the kingfisher appeared motionless but very much alive.
To be honest, I was quite panic since I've never touched a bird before, let alone facing with such a situation. But I was quick to make up my mind and try to cut the poor kingfisher loose.
At first I use whatever sticks that I could gather from the surroundings; however, the net was quite resilient, and one stick after another broke. Frustrated, I opened my backpack and dig through everything to find some sharp object for the task ( I finally settle with the motorbike key).
Now, cutting the net was one thing, making the poor fella to corporate with me was another thing. Each time I made a cut, it twitched and turned violently, trying to free itself from the net only to be entangled in more thread. After some struggle, I was able to separate it from the net and lay it onto the ground. It then tried to fly away but couldn't, for I was unable to cut the final thread with my key for fear of harming the bird.
Therefore, I decided to put it in a plastic bag and rush it to my friend's house, with the hope of cutting the final thread and treating it from any possible injuries before setting it free. Furthermore, I figured that it was for the best that I move it as far away from this location as possible, since the presence of the bird net was a clear indication of trapper activities in the area.
Once at my friend's house, we hurriedly get the scissors and cut the thread. Turned out it was tightly wrap around the bird's belly. During the process, it seemed panicked and bit my friend's fingers several times, albeit with a weak force that caused no harm.
Finally, upon cutting the last thread, it flew away at once. We felt so relived and happy for it.
Note that I have no prior experience rescuing birds and such so I might have made many mistakes in the process. My only thought in my head at that time was setting it free as fast as possible for fear of its own health and the trapper's return. Thank you for making this far, this is my first post of this kind also, so feel free to give feedbacks.
p/s: they said a picture is worth a thousand words but in this case I think an action is worth more than a thousand pictures ( I came home without any image of the bee-eaters nor the kingfishers, but you bet I slept soundly that night).
Entagled and upside down
Free but grounded
Cutting the final thread
Free, 'No string attached'
Fly away and live another day lucky fella, I will miss you a lot!
