Bolingbrook firefighters save bird trapped in fishing line in lake
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. - Bolingbrook Firefighters rescued a great blue heron Wednesday that was tangled in fishing line in a lake.
Two volunteer dragonfly monitors were kayaking at Whalon Lake in the Forest Preserve District of Will County when they witnessed a heron eating a fish and getting entangled in a fishing line.
At the same time, Bolingbrook Firefighters happened to be performing their annual water rescue training on the lake.
One of the volunteers paddled her kayak over to them to ask if they would help the heron.
Firefighter Jack Jans, who was in the water wearing a special rescue suit, went over to the heron and managed to grab the bird and bring it back to the shore. The firefighters then removed the fishing line and a hook that was embedded in the bird's right wing.
Bolingbrook Firefighters cut away fishing line and a hook embedded in a great blue heron’s wing on Wednesday, Aug. 2, at the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Whalon Lake preserve in Naperville/Bolingbrook. (Photos courtesy of the Bolingbrook
Fishing lines that are carelessly discarded can harm wildlife by trapping their feet, wings, necks or bodies, leading to injuries or even death as they try to escape.
To protect wildlife, people should cut fishing lines into pieces that are less than six inches long and properly dispose of them in monofilament recycling containers or covered trash containers.
Chicago Bird Collision Monitor volunteers have rescued over a dozen birds at Whalon Lake in Naperville/Bolingbrook and Hidden Lakes Trout Farm this year.