Saturday morning Orrie & I decided to take a walk down on the lakefront. The temperature was warm, although a storm front was on it's way bringing in a chill later in the afternoon, so figured it was best to get the walk in earlier rather than later.
We drove down to the softball fields between Belmont Harbor & Irving Park. Left the car in the lot and walked on over to the lake shore. As we were walking south toward Belmot Harbor, we noticed some people ahead near the edge of the of the breakwater (or whatever they call the miles of concrete pathways that the city has installed along the lake), and they were looking down as if something had fallen in.
We drove down to the softball fields between Belmont Harbor & Irving Park. Left the car in the lot and walked on over to the lake shore. As we were walking south toward Belmot Harbor, we noticed some people ahead near the edge of the of the breakwater (or whatever they call the miles of concrete pathways that the city has installed along the lake), and they were looking down as if something had fallen in.
As I got closer, I noticed someone was actually in the water, standing waist-deep on the large boulders under the waterline (no diving, no swimming, or so the signs along the concrete say). Out about 20 or so feet from the wall was a bird, about duck-sized, but it had a pointy beak so I'm not sure what kind of duck it was. Turns out, it was caught in some fishing line, and the fishing line was caught on something else under the water, and the bird was struggling to get free. Not sure if the line was wrapped around it's neck or if it was hooked somehow, but we could tell it was caught there somehow.
The water wasn't too choppy, although it was probably something between 40 and 50 degrees cold, and the rocks underneath didn't make the rescue operation very easy. We stood there for a half hour or so we stood there watching two guys wading into the water trying to corral the struggling bird, and neither of them were able to get a hold of it to help it free or find the end of the line to cut it.
The wife of one of the guys in the water was glad i had walked by, not to mention had a phone just in case a 911 call was necessary. A few people called 311 for the park district to see if someone could come down and assist. All we could think of was the operator on the other end rolling their eyes at us calling in about a caught bird in Lake Michigan. As if they were going to send the Marine helicopter out with the Navy SEALs that would jump into the water and extricate the bird from it's trap.
Sad. I hope the little guy eventually made it out. I snapped a couple pictures to document the occasion, with a part of me thinking in the back of my head that they'd go well with the "Good Samaritans Drown While Attempting to Rescue Bird in the Water" headline.
The water wasn't too choppy, although it was probably something between 40 and 50 degrees cold, and the rocks underneath didn't make the rescue operation very easy. We stood there for a half hour or so we stood there watching two guys wading into the water trying to corral the struggling bird, and neither of them were able to get a hold of it to help it free or find the end of the line to cut it.
The wife of one of the guys in the water was glad i had walked by, not to mention had a phone just in case a 911 call was necessary. A few people called 311 for the park district to see if someone could come down and assist. All we could think of was the operator on the other end rolling their eyes at us calling in about a caught bird in Lake Michigan. As if they were going to send the Marine helicopter out with the Navy SEALs that would jump into the water and extricate the bird from it's trap.
Sad. I hope the little guy eventually made it out. I snapped a couple pictures to document the occasion, with a part of me thinking in the back of my head that they'd go well with the "Good Samaritans Drown While Attempting to Rescue Bird in the Water" headline.