The Old Lady stood by a country highway, waiting to watch bicyclists race by and thinking she was just killing time, when suddenly she spotted the REAL reason she had stopped there:
a LOON was sitting on the ground nearby!
She knew something was wrong, but could not get close. These large predatory water birds have spear-like beaks, and this one was threatening to spear The Old Lady. She managed to shoo him into some shade where he felt safe and settled down, then she started making phone calls to find a wildlife rescue organization to come rescue him.
Some hours later, a volunteer from Goose Creek Wildlife Refuge showed up. She was trained in how NOT to get speared by beaks and soon had the loon packed in a crate.
The Refuge found nothing wrong with the loon. It seems that during rain a highway can look like a river to a bird flying overhead, but if a loon lands there he can’t take off again. Their legs are designed for swimming, not walking; they need to be swimming in order to get up enough speed to become airborne.
And the happy ending is… they released him into water the next day!
SUPPORT WILDLIFE RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS!
LISTEN to The Old Lady!
What a wonderful and educational story. You go, Julie!