Bird watchers and firefighters rescue unusual duck trapped in Fox River
(From the Chicago Tribune)

A group of volunteers and firefighters helped rescue a duck trapped in fishing line in the Fox River over the weekend.

The Harlequin duck, believed to be a juvenile male, was pulled out of the water early morning on Jan. 31 and brought to a local rehabilitation center.

Annette Prince, director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, said bird watchers who saw the duck struggling in the water contacted her group for assistance. Prince said people also had reached out to her group weeks earlier because they saw the duck apparently suffering from a leg injury but could not get to him to offer aid.

"Because they can fly, they're not reachable," Prince said. "His wings were fully functioning, so he was able to get to food sources."

Getting entangled in finishing line—a common hazard for birds—ironically gave the concerned volunteers an opening to approach and capture the duck.

"It's almost a good misfortune," Prince said.

Still too far from shore for any of the volunteers to reach him, crews from the Elgin Fire Department were called to the scene to help, Battalion Chief Terry Bruce said. Eventually they were able to use a pike pole, a tool normally used to pull down drywall inside a building to check for hot spots, to hook onto the fishing line and pull the duck to shore. Eric Secker, an Elgin resident who volunteers with the Bird Conservation Network, then brought the duck to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn for treatment.

"It was a great cooperative effort," Prince said. "I think a lot of people were invested in making sure nothing bad happened to it."

Harlequins spend most of their time in mountain streams and rivers, and deep dive for fish at or near the bottom of the waterway, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Harlequins typically are found along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts but the species itself is not rare. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources estimates that there are between 190,000 and 380,000 Harlequins worldwide and states that the population trend is increasing.

Jeff Skrentny, a bird watcher and conservationist in Chicago, said Harlequins might be spotted in areas like the Fox River once every five to 10 years.

"This bird was particularly exceptional. Any year that there's a Harlequin duck in northeastern Illinois, I go to see it," Skrentny said. "That particular bird has been there two years in a row. It's not unusual that a bird would find a place a winter and come back to that place again."

Despite the rescue effort, veterinarian Dr. Jen Nevis said the duck may be too ill to be released back into the wild. Her initial examination showed that he was in decent condition despite having badly curled toes, possibly from old fractures that improperly healed, which prevented him from bearing weight on that leg. X-rays later revealed infections in both feet.

Nevis said the duck is on pain medications and antibiotics. She added they were going to work to stretch out his toes in order to loosen up the tendons and ligaments and fit him with orthopedic boots to help stabilize his foot, in an effort to help him stand properly. Without that rehabilitation for his feet, the duck would have a very tough time back in his normal habitat.

"On land, he's going to be a disaster," Nevis said. "If he got up on land, he wouldn't be able to run away."

If the therapy and the medications don't work, his outlook is dim.

"If he's overcome with some of these toe infections, then he either would have to euthanized or potentially placed, but he definitely would be a special needs bird so placement could be difficult," Nevis said.

Though the duck may not survive, Prince said she still was encouraged to see so many people team up to help the duck, which would have died in the water without intervention.

"That's making a positive statement that that bird mattered," Prince said. "It's not just something we would ignore. It shows real respect to nature and the value of animal life. If there's a way to give him some care, we want to give him a chance."