Subject: [Tweeters] Montlake Fill - Pied-billed Grebe and fishnetting
Date: Nov 2 12:16:43 2009
From: Kathy Andrich - chukarbird at yahoo.com


Hi Elizabeth,

From my own experience trying to catch a net-bound pied-billed use a net to catch them from underneath the bird not from above. They seem to regularly get snagged and trapped in the greater Montlake area. Whoever catches them cuts off the net and leaves them to die a slow death. Disgusting and makes me wonder if it isn't intentional since I have seen 3 pied-billed grebes exactly as you describe with one actually close enough to try to catch. But then again fish nets aren't necessarily cheap and this might just be a misperception. Unfortunately the catch net we used was too shallow and the best catch from below the grebe allowed the grebe to hop out and I found it dead later:(

The catch attempt was using a canoe to heard the bird and I was onshore with the net.

Kathy
Roosting in Kent, near Lake Meridian
(chukarbird at yahoo dot com)
Any driving directions contained within this message are given as a courtesy, beware, author is directionally challenged and will not vouch for them.


--- On Sun, 11/1/09, lizalt1 <lizalt1 at mac.com> wrote:

> From: lizalt1 <lizalt1 at mac.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Montlake Fill - Pied-billed Grebe and fishnetting
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Cc: "bobcello Edgerton" <bobcello at aol.com>
> Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009, 9:35 PM
> Hi Tweeters,
>
> Besides a very enjoyable birding at the Fill yesterday,
> Saturday, (beautiful group of Hooded Mergansers,
> Green-winged Teals,? Harrier, pair of eagles.........)
> Bob and I saw a Pied-billed Grebe in the water between the
> Fill and the Stadium, struggling with some fine fish-netting
> around it's head.? After a while it just sat still for
> a long time.? It was sad not to be able to help, and
> wondering how this will end? - possibly an eagle
> grabbing it, fish-netting and all???????
>
> Anybody have an idea what we could have done? or do in
> future similar encounters????Perhaps contact
> someone who could go out in a canoe to help?
>
> Elizabeth Edgerton (and Bob),
> lizedge at mac.com
>
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