No Laughing Matter- Elgin Harlequin Duck Rescue

As is always the case on a Saturday morning, I had hoped that my plans for the day would lead to an eventful time out birding around the Fox River Valley. This was especially true because of the impending snowstorm headed our way, predicted to begin Saturday night with 12-18 inches of snow possible. My starting point for the day was Walton Island in Elgin, where a young male Harlequin Duck was continuing and progressing every day towards adult plumage. An adult male Harlequin Duck is quite the stunning sight, and after seeing photos of him taken Friday, I decided it would be nice to see him once again. I had no idea what was in store.

My mom and I arrived and once I stepped out of the car, I saw two birders standing near what had to be the Harlequin Duck. Such a rare visitor to the area has attracted much attention from those who hope to see something unusual, so it was no surprise there were onlookers already. I looked through my binoculars at the bird from a distance, noticing unusual behavior. It would barely stay above water for ten seconds at a time, and its body would rarely rise above the surface of the water. My first thought was possibly that it could have been bathing.

We walked up to the couple, who were watching the duck. I said hello and we began talking about the odd behavior. Larry, the gentleman I was speaking with, told me the bird was caught on fishing line, and the line was pulling it down. Immediately I was concerned about the bird, and it didn't help that it had been like that for at least 30-45 minutes at the time. It was obviously in trouble. Larry had mentioned that he believed someone had made a call, but he wasn't entirely sure. I started sending texts and making calls to people I thought could help, and two of them sent me the number of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.

I called the number and explained the situation. It seemed to me by the response of the person I was talking to that indeed a call had been made. I was told to contact the Elgin Animal Control department, so I took down the number and did so. The Animal Control calls were handled by Elgin Police apparently, so I explained the situation to them, and was told they had no one they could send over right away because of a couple emergency calls. Of course it was understandable. The woman I spoke with asked if I could stay with the bird until help was available, and I said yes. I told her what I was wearing so the responding officer knew who to look for.

At that time, it was a waiting game, and more people were showing up to view the Harlequin Duck, completely unaware of its distress before arriving. Immediately more and more people became concerned, and several started discussing possible ideas for rescue in the meantime. They started thinking of people they knew who had kayaks, canoes, or even rafts that could be used to reach the bird, which was about 15 feet offshore in the middle of the river channel. Larry headed home to retrieve waders as a possible option, but no one was certain just how deep the channel was.

I received another phone call from the CBCM, and was told they had someone willing to transport the bird to Willowbrook Wildlife Center once it had been brought ashore. I updated them that the bird was still in trouble and still actively fighting to stay alive. It was hard to watch. Eventually, an Elgin police officer showed up, and we explained what was going on. He told us he was unsure what he could really do for the bird, and talks continued on how we could reach the bird and safely cut it free. The officer asked me to allow him to make some more calls. I was thankful for the fact that he took the situation as seriously as he did.

Eventually, the Elgin fire department responded, and came out with some long rods with hooks at the end for snagging the line. They were still too short to reach, so they regrouped to think of the best plan of action. The bird at this point, had been fighting for its life for at least an estimated two hours. Every minute that went by, concern would grow immensely. A second fire engine arrived, and a member of the fire department donned a wetsuit to go in and retrieve the bird.

Tethered to a safety line held by other firefighters on the shore, the fireman waded out towards the duck, with a rod in hand to snag the line. Fortunately, the water really wasn't very deep, only coming up to about the fireman's waist. When he was within reach, he extended the hook out into the river and began dragging it along the bottom in an attempt to snag the line and free it from where it was caught up. Success! The fireman was able to bring the line within his reach, and slowly and carefully pulled the duck toward him. It was not long before the bird was in hand! But the line was still attached, even as the fireman waded carefully back to shore.

Carefully pulling the Harlequin Duck in closer.

With the duck in hand, the fireman wades back to shore.

At that point, it was all too apparent just how much of a toll this had taken on the duck. It seemed as if the duck was taking full advantage of the fact that it no longer had to fight a strong current while struggling to free itself, as the bird was nearly motionless after being brought up. However, it was awake and alert, just obviously exhausted. The line was cut, and the bird was no longer hung up, but still had plenty of fishing line wrapped around its wing. Eric Secker began cutting the line away with care, as the bird rested in a shoe box on his lap. It took a while, but eventually it began to perk up.

The Harlequin Duck is cut free from the line, and obviously exhausted.

The camera-shy Harlequin Duck rests in a shoe box in the hands of Eric Secker.

At that time, a volunteer with Willowbrook was en route with a canoe, and about an hour away, as I had told him in our previous conversation that he should be headed our way in case the authorities could not or would not do anything. I gave him a call, letting him know it would no longer be required, and that the bird was resting comfortably and on his way to Willowbrook with Eric. It was a relief, a great relief!

I thanked the firemen and the police officer that responded for not only their seriousness about rescuing this bird, but also for going above and beyond what is necessary to be of service! This bird had become somewhat of a local celebrity, and it was that status that saved the bird's life. A huge thank you goes to Eric Secker for all of his help with this rescue, from the supplied phone number to the transport of the rescuee! I had taken video of the bird while it was in distress, something I normally will not do, to keep and possibly serve as a reminder why it is so important to keep our water bodies as free of fishing line as is possible. Watching this bird from time to time for the past two months, it really was hard to see it in so much pain and peril.

Currently, what I know of the Harlequin Duck, is that it is going to be examined for possible injury and for any remaining fishing line. The duck had a pre-existing right foot injury, but had been getting along just fine without intervention for the time it had spent there in Elgin. If all goes well, the bird will be released back into the wild once again at Walton Island, where it has spent so much time already. Eric Secker told me that the transport went well, and the bird was as active and spunky as ever upon arrival at Willowbrook. The prognosis looks good for our fine feathered friend!

Brendon Lake

Fox River Birding 1/17- Hits, Misses and Stars

Ah, today, a wonderful day to get out and go birding. A much needed distraction from a busy week. My plan, to see if I could re-locate the Trumpeter Swans seen recently in Yorkville, and head north along the Fox River from there. My mom and I jumped in the car, both hoping to have a good day in the field to relieve some stress built up over the past seven days, and we were off.

First up was the Yorkville Dam, just to the east of Route 47, where a male Red-Breasted Merganser had been seen. I needed one for my still young year list, and also for Kendall County. It was not long before I saw a couple new county birds, the aforementioned Red-Breasted Merganser and a female Bufflehead. The Bufflehead was amusing, as I had never seen one standing on ice before, only swimming. Also present a fly-by Red-Tailed Hawk and a Great Blue Heron. And after that nice stopover, it was off to the other side of Route 47 to find the swans. A gentleman at the dam had said that five of the six swans had been seen in flight, so it was unlikely they were still around.

When we stepped out of the car after finding a spot to pull over, the remaining Trumpeter Swan was sitting just down the hill on the ice. It was great to listen as it vocalized numerous times. The trumpet of a Trumpeter Swan is such an appealing sound to me. Also seen in this stretch of the river were another Great Blue Heron, a Bald Eagle, three Redheads (two males and a female) and an American Coot among the more expected birds. I snapped many photos of the Trumpeter Swan, as who can resist such a beautiful bird? The surroundings however, were less than picture perfect. Also, the Trumpeter Swan is pulling your leg, it's not missing one of its own, it's just tucked away and hidden from view.

Trumpeter Swan

So after a very successful first stop, we headed north to the Montgomery Dam. Not much there, but a flyover Bald Eagle, a fly-by Cooper's Hawk and two Great Blue Herons provided a little entertainment. Next up on the schedule was lunch, followed by Geneva. Again, all was quiet. So the question became: "What to do next?" Go to the St. Charles Dam, or skip it for South Elgin? We decided to stop at the St. Charles Dam, if only to briefly check the ice above for gulls. This was a disappointment, as there were none to be found.

After turning back onto Route 64 to cross back over the river to 31, we were held up by a van that blocked our lane of traffic as they unloaded something at the Hotel Baker. While waiting for an opportunity to get out from behind the van, we noticed some very expensive movie-type cameras walking around. Wondering why, we quickly found out. Donnie Wahlburg and Jenny McCarthy were standing outside the Hotel Baker (no photos because I'm not a paparazzo), waiting for their ride. That was the closest I had ever been to celebrities. That was the most unusual part of the day by far!

Heading north, a stop at the South Elgin Dam had literally nothing doing. I decided our next stop would be Walton Island to see if I could find the Redhead reported by Josh Little and Andrew Aldrich yesterday. Immediately upon arriving, I came upon familiar faces (Gordon and Scott B.) who confirmed that the ever-present Harlequin Duck was still just that. However, no one had apparently even looked for the Redhead, so I decided to do a thorough check of the island. I found the Harlequin Duck again in a hurry. Even with an apparent right foot injury or deformity, this duck is still flourishing here! On the other side of the island, the female Redhead was still hanging around!

Harlequin Duck Preening

Redhead and Mallard

It was at this time that I received a text from Scott Cohrs, asking frankly: "Is your Barrow's back???" I had no idea what he was talking about, until he told me John Heneghan had found an adult male Barrow's Goldeneye on the Fox River very near where I had found one last March (John has a photo). We headed up there as soon as we could, and ran into John and Tricia. The bird had flown since he had spotted it, and wasn't being seen at the time. And despite over an hour and a half of searching, I and several others could not re-find the bird. HOWEVER, just because it wasn't being seen, doesn't mean the bird is gone. And despite the miss, there were several highlights. Tricia was certain she had seen a Red-Shouldered Hawk earlier, and when I checked behind Otto Engineering, I was able to confirm that suspicion when a beautiful adult flew past me and landed in a tree.

Adult Red-Shouldered Hawk

It was a very bittersweet find, as this was one bird that had eluded me in my Kane County big year attempt last year, and now on the 17th of January, I already had it checked off! A Red-Shouldered Hawk always puts a smile on my face! Other nice finds were a male Wood Duck visible on the Fox north of John Hill Park on Lincoln Avenue, two American Black Ducks with what I believe was a likely American Black DuckxMallard hybrid (bill and plumage suggest it), several Hooded Mergansers, and a non-bird highlight, a mink at the Carpentersville Dam! What are the thoughts on the rear bird in the photo below? Mine were hybrid.

American Black Duck and Hybrid?

And thus, a largely successful day of birding was in the books. It will be interesting to see if the Barrow's can be re-located tomorrow morning. I sure hope so, congratulations go to John Heneghan for an excellent find!

Brendon Lake