A routine workday took an unexpected turn last week when Belmont Light line worker Nick Kacoyanis was called upon to rescue a crow that had become tangled in fishing line and was dangling from a branch high above Clay Pit Pond near Belmont High School.
The crow was cold, dehydrated, and clearly in pain when Kacoyanis arrived on Dec. 3 with his bucket truck, and he and Belmont Animal Control Officer Suzanne Trasavage worked together to cut the line that had immobilized the bird.
Crow Recovering
“It was completely wrapped in fishing line to the point that it was attached to three different limbs of trees,” Trasavage said. “It appeared to be deceased, but if you stood there long enough, you could see it move.”
“It was the wildest scene,” Kacoyanis added. “He might have heard my voice, and when I started grabbing the line, he was flapping pretty good, so maybe he knew something good was going to happen, or he was scared, I don’t know, but he was moving, and that was good to see.”
Trasavage said she had no way of knowing how long the bird had been in the predicament but, based on the condition of its wings, estimated that it might have been there for more than a day.
Despite its fragile condition, Trasavage deemed the bird safe for transport and took it to Heal Veterinary Clinic in Watertown, where it was treated and kept overnight for observation.
“They called me that night and said he was still with us, and I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
Dr. Amanda Leef treated the crow before transporting it via Wildlife Rescue Rides to a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator in Hopkinton. She noted that while the bird avoided fractures or lacerations, the entanglement had left it cold, weak and unable to fold its wings properly.
Still, Leef said, despite the fact that the line was wrapped around both wings and through his mouth, he was “super, super lucky.”
“He definitely has damage, but he doesn’t have the kind of damage I often see with line entanglement,” she said. “He managed to not fracture anything and the line didn’t cut through the skin. I’m really pleased he didn’t have more damage than he had.”
Leef said she has seen cases where an animal breaks bones trying to free itself or is entangled in a fishing line for weeks or months to the point where the line becomes embedded in the animal’s skin.
“He was lucky to have gotten by with just some sort of muscle damage that will hopefully heal with time,” she said.
As of Dec. 6, Leef said she heard the bird was eating and showing signs of recovering from its ordeal.
The rescue drew attention online with photos and videos shared on Facebook.
Kacoyanis, who has been called upon to rescue cats and drones from trees with his bucket truck, said he had received thanks and congratulations for rescuing the bird, including from his own children.
“I went home and said ‘I rescued a bird,’ and that’s all they wanted to hear about,” he said.
Leef hopes the story will raise awareness about the danger abandoned fishing lines pose to local wildlife.
“That’s a big problem. It leads to a completely avoidable loss of life,” she said. “It drives me crazy that people don’t take care of their lines.”
