Minnesota: Eden Prairie officers rescue kitten and heron in separate incidents

MINNESOTA -- Eden Prairie Police Department posted on Facebook July 17, 2017

In the past week EPPD Community Service Officers (CSOs) have had two unique animal rescues.

First, last Wednesday night CSO Spencer Barrie was dispatched to an area of Purgatory Creek where a 911 caller had reported a blue heron caught in a net intended to keep carp out of the creek.

The water was knee-high so CSO Barrie took off his boots and socks, rolled up his pants and waded into the creek. The heron was not initially cooperative and struggled with CSO Barrie who was eventually able to free it.

The second rescue occurred on Sunday night when a woman who had just driven from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie called to say that she thought there was a cat stuck in her car’s engine compartment.

CSO Lars Anderson responded to the call and spent the next hour working with the driver and her boyfriend to free the cat from the car.

It took them an hour to pull apart the bumper and wheel well and eventually a tiny kitten emerged.

It did not belong to the owner of the car so CSO Anderson brought it to an animal shelter.

Workers chop down tree even though federally-protected baby birds were falling to the ground

CALIFORNIA -- Local and state authorities are investigating a contractor that residents say tore down a tree full of legally protected birds Thursday afternoon in a Newport Beach neighborhood.

Neighbors in Balboa Peninsula Point said they stood on the sidewalk along East Balboa Boulevard in disbelief as workers knocked down a large tree that was home to two types of herons.

Authorities declined to release the name of the company, citing an "active criminal investigation."

Residents said the distressed birds circled above the tree, which sat on the site of a demolished house in the 1500 block, as their nests and chicks fell to the ground. The site had been undergoing construction for several weeks, neighbors said. All work has been halted.

Officials said the tree was on private property and therefore could be torn down without a permit. However, federal law prohibits anyone from disturbing or removing active birds' nests from trees.

Newport Beach animal-control officials and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are investigating the crew for a possible misdemeanor violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which protects birds throughout the United States, said animal-control officer Nick Ott.

Animal-control officials took 10 chicks to the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach on Thursday afternoon. Two of the chicks were dead on arrival, Ott said.

The tree was largely overgrown and known to provide an annual nesting spot for snowy egrets, a small white heron and black-crowned night herons, neighbors said.

One resident called Newport Beach police around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when workers continued to demolish the tree despite neighbors' protests, resident Nicole Snell Deermount said.

"They kept tearing down the tree even though all these birds were freaking out all over the place," Deermount said. "Birds were flying everywhere."

Deermount said her husband, Adam, was walking the family dog Friday morning when he noticed a chick struggling in the branches piled on the ground. He called animal control, which took the bird to the rescue center.

"We suspect there were a lot more birds up there," Ott said.

After the investigation is complete, the agencies will submit their findings to the Orange County district attorney's office, Ott said. Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges.

If charges are filed, those involved could face six months to a year in jail and be ordered to pay fines if convicted. The case also could be prosecuted at the federal level, officials said.

(Daily Pilot - May 30, 2015)

Blue heron rescued: Officer responds to a bird in distress, frees animal caught in a tree limb

FLORIDA -- The Martin County Sheriff's Office just answered a call for help.... from a blue heron!

According to the sheriff's office Facebook page, animal control officers saw the bird caught in a tree limb near Frazier Creek. They say the animal was obviously in great distress.

The only way to get to it was on the water, so animal control officer Michelle Thonney borrowed a paddle board, and made her way to the struggling creature.

She managed to free the blue heron from a ball of fishing line.

It's now being treated at the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center, and will hopefully soon return to its regular perch along Frazier Creek.

(WPTV - June 28, 2013)

Local police rescue injured heron

OREGON -- Police officers from the St. Helens Police Department responded to a June 14 call regarding a bird blocking the intersection of N. Second Street and Columbia Boulevard.

When Officer Anthony Miltich and Sgt. Joe Hogue arrived at the scene, they discovered a three-foot tall blue heron standing in the roadway.

According to officials, the bird was behaving like it was injured and would not leave the road when the officers attempted to startle the bird to the safety of the sidewalk.

Miltich wrapped the bird in burlap, and the heron was transported to Dove Lewis Animal Hospital for assessment. Dove Lewis kept the bird overnight before giving it to the Audubon Society of Portland for monitoring. The blue heron has a bacterial infection in its eye that is preventing it from flying.

According to Deb Schaffer, a veterinarian for the Audubon Society, the heron is doing somewhat better although she said the bird was not out of the wood. Along with the continuing eye infection, Schaffer said the heron also had parasites that it is now being treated for.

The Audubon Society will continue to monitor the bird until the infection has cleared. It is hoped that the heron will be released back into the wild once its medical issues have been resolved.

(St. Helens Chronicle - Jun 26, 2013)