Subject: [Tweeters] Purple martin rescued from strangulation!!!!
Date: Aug 27 21:46:27 2011
From: Lori Christopher - lorindon at nwlink.com


Awesome good deed!!

Lori
Bothell


On 8/27/11 9:09 PM, "Ed Dominguez" <edomino.ed at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello tweets,
>
> Great story for you: ?Today I was stand up paddleboarding in Puget Sound just
> north of Ray's Boathouse. ?My friend Traci Ree was just west of the piers
> where the Purple Martin nest gourds are located and shouted, "Bird
> emergency!!!" ?As we raced to the piers we could see a female martin had
> wedged her neck in between the two vertical aluminum poles that support the
> crossbeam from which two gourds hang opposite of each other. ?The martin was
> flapping her wings furiously but was obviously trapped at the neck. ?As the
> two vertical poles are open in a "Y" formation at the top (to support the
> crossbeam), and quickly taper to parallel as they descend to their anchorage,
> there was no way the martin was going to free herself and it looked like
> strangulation would be the eventual outcome. ?The local Martin Nation was
> vocalizing and circling her fervently trying to help, but to no avail. ?We
> brought our paddleboards up to the wood beam that acted as a fender to the
> pier poles and Traci climbed up onto the aluminum poles and balanced on the
> wood beam. ?Grabbing an aluminum pole in each hand and pulling apart with all
> her strength, she open a gap wide enough for the Martin to fly through and,
> free once again, join the rest of her compatriots. ?Traci and I thrust our
> fists into the air in a victory gesture; her quick response cetainly saved the
> bird from a grisly fate!
>
> It would be wise to wire or band the three sets of aluminum poles tightly
> together where they form the "Y" so as to prevent accidental entrapment of
> other martins.
>
> Somewhere I know my old friend Kevin Li is smiling.......
>
>
> Ed Dominguez
> Madrona neighborhood
>
>
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