A Contemplating Crane

Another photographer came down the path, and asked..."Did you see that crane back there? I wonder if it is all right." It wasn't.

I took several pictures of him lying in the grass, while his mate and his toddler crane were 30 yards away. He finally got up to join them, limping very badly...especially on his right leg. Looking closer, I could see that both of his feet were badly wrapped in fishing line. Uh oh.

We both called the metro park headquarters, and they in turn called the nature center...which we were close to. 10-15 minutes later, a worker named Mark showed up with a black table cloth and a pair of scissors. What?

He explained that he had to use the table cloth to cover the big bird's head and beak...so that he wouldn't get attacked. He failed on the first throw, but connected on the second. But, with Mark holding the beak with one hand, and the giant wings with the other...who was going to cut off the fishing line? ME...THAT'S WHO!

I felt like a surgeon, I felt like a veterinarian, I felt like Ace Ventura...Pet Detective. I carefully snipped off the taut fishing line, Mark told me to step back, and then he released the bird. He scampered off like we hoped he would, and we all felt good about the "operation."

The other photog came over to help hold the bird down, but Mark had a pretty good hold, so he ended up taking a few pictures. I'm hoping he'll send me a few shots. 

I'm tagging this as a HHD (Happy Hump Day) shot, because the whole experience made me smile.