OPPD to the Rescue!

On Sunday evening, NWRI received a call that there was a pigeon hanging from an "invisible line" above a pole on 55th and Leavenworth. We contacted the Nebraska Humane Society to see if they had dispatched to the call and they had, but there was nothing they could do because the bird was too high and beyond their reach.

 

So, unable to ignore an animal in distress, we went to the site at 8 p.m. that night to find that the pigeon was hanging by a wing from what was likely a fishing line. It was still alive and in desperate need of help. It was hanging halfway between the tree and the electrical pole, above the sidewalk, probably about 50' in the air!

The pigeon isn't in this picture, but he was a few feet above the top of this pole and a few feet to the right, hanging above the sidewalk about halfway between the tree and the pole.



We tried calling tree trimmers, Cox Cable, and the utilities -- anyone with machinery that could get that high in the air. Finally, Dave from OPPD answered our call for help! He arrived on the scene and was able to determine that the pigeon was hanging from fishing line that extended from the nearest tree all the way across Leavenworth Street, where it was attached to another pole! He extended his cherry picker to its highest limits and was able to cut the line and catch the pigeon as it swung towards him. He brought it down to us, safely on the ground.

Upon examination, we were shocked to see that although the fishing line was wrapped several times around the pigeon's wing, there are no broken bones or dislocations! His wing was swollen from lack of circulation and very sore, and he does have some feather damage. We cut all of the remaining line away, and gave him some medication to help with the swelling. He is now resting comfortably and will be released in just a few days!

 

 

 

 

 

We know that many people, even bird lovers, are not fond of pigeons, but this guy was in serious distress and we couldn't leave him there to suffer!

 

 

We are incredibly grateful to Dave from OPPD for helping save this guy!

Thank you, Dave!

Calling all Bobcats...

Hello to all our wildlife friends! As some of you may know, we have been working with the students of the Underwood Hills Focus School (3rd through 6th grade) to build an Outdoor Science Classroom at the school. This classroom has been designed by the students and includes bat, bird, and butterfly houses, a digital weather station, and a huge native prairie garden. This project has been partially funded by the Nebraska Environmental Trust, administered by the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.

The students have been working hard since last spring -- they have done extensive research, designed and built all of their houses and picked out their plants. While they were on fall break these past two weeks, the school district was supposed to clear the approximately 500 square feet garden plot of sod so the students could till, landscape and plant over the coming three weeks (seeds and bare root plants). However, the school district HAS NOT cleared the land and we are in desperate need of someone with a bobcat or other large machinery to come in and clear the sod for us ASAP. With the cooler weather upon us, it's really important that this garden go in soon! If you or anyone you know can help, please call Laura Stastny at 402-960-4366 as soon as you can! We all thank you for your help!

Also, if you are interested in joining students and parents to lay pavers and put in plants on a Monday or Wednesday afternoon in the next few weeks, please call Laura or email nebraskawildlife@yahoo.com. We'd love to have your help with this exciting and energizing project!

Finally, if you can't help out on the ground, but would like to donate to this cause, we'd still like to raise funds for some extras for the students, including field guides and references, binoculars to scope out the birds in their new houses, and even a Web cam for the bat house.

Donations can be made to NWRI by check at PO Box 24122, Omaha, NE 68124 (just write Focus School in the memo line) or by PayPal. You can find our PayPal link here.


We appreciate all of your help in making these students' hours of hard work and dedication an educational success!