Great blue heron rescued from fishing line

Terri Driver was going about her normal patrol for Longboat Key Turtle Watch on July 7 when she came across an area with a lot of foliage and branches scattered around. 

Then she heard a bird cry out for help. 

Driver realized it was a great blue heron but in terrible condition. It tried to swim away, but it couldn’t, she said. 

She called Save Our Seabirds, but the facility wasn’t open yet, so she called her friends Ray and Heather Sellers for help. 

Before help arrived, Driver said she saw the bird still had plenty of energy, so she approached cautiously. A seasoned turtle patroller, she was prepared with a pair of scissors. She snipped some of the fishing line that was restricting the bird and kept it steady on the shore until the Sellers arrived. 

Driver said the last she heard, the heron was doing well and recovering at SOS, ready to be released soon.