Gulls Collared with Budweiser Beer Cans
November - December 2010
UPDATED 12/11
Rescue is our forte. We are wildlife capture experts and pride ourselves on being proactive - going out and looking for injured wild animals that are reported. This is what sets WildRescue apart from other native wildlife rescue organizations in the U.S.
It was in September that we, WildRescue, and our colleagues at International Bird Rescue, first learned about a bird collared with a beer can in Half Moon Bay. We thought it was an isolated incident. Then, last week, we were forwarded a picture of a different gull. Clearly, there were others. It was time to ask the public for help in finding the birds and hopefully the person(s) responsible.
Word spread quickly and through the reports coming in we believe there may be as many as 5 gulls with Budweiser beer cans on their necks. They have been spotted since the middle of August in various locations around the Bay Area including Half Moon Bay, Fremont, Berkeley, Fishermen's Wharf, Alcatraz and Stinson Beach.
Photo credit Don Battle
Going off of recent sightings, we set out to look for the birds on November 5th. We did manage to catch up with one of the gulls with a beer can around its neck in San Francisco. A young gull, and unusually spooky and hard to get close to.
It was not until Monday, November 15th that we successfully captured the young gull at Lake Merced. Watch the video below or click HERE.
Days later there was a report of another young gull at San Francisco State University. It, too, was hard to approach.
Thanks to a kind citizen who befriended the bird with daily handouts, we were able to successfully capture it on December 11th. Video HERE.
We were grateful to have Mark Russell (International Bird Rescue) on hand to check the bird thoroughly and Russ Curtis to help document.
We believe there could be as many as 3 other gulls that have had this done to them. We'd like the public to keep sending us their sightings so we can find and help the others. We'd also like the public to not attempt to capture the birds. Any stalking, grabbing, lunging, or chasing will only make the birds harder to approach.
Sightings should be reported to our dedicated wildlife pager at 831-429-2323 or emailed to rescue (at) wildrescue (dot) org.
We are also on a manhunt. The bounty has doubled! Thanks to a matching pledge from California Beer & Beverage Distributors the reward for the arrest and prosecution of the person or person's responsible is now at $6,000.00.
WildRescue is a 501(c)(3) program - a project of EarthWays Foundation. It's run by a husband and wife team and a corps of dedicated volunteers. There are no salaries and no paid staff. All contributions go directly to the costs of saving wild animals in peril.
Donations can be made to WildRescue at P.O. Box 65, Moss Landing CA 95039 or by clicking HERE.
Anyone interested in becoming part of their rescue team in the Bay Area, Monterey, or Los Angeles is encouraged to submit an application HERE.
Gull Freed From Crab Trap
November 5, 2010
Friday, November 5th, Duane and Rebecca headed up the coast to look for gulls collared in beer cans. At the harbor in Half Moon Bay, while they did not find a beer-can-collared gull, they did rescue a gull horribly entangled in a crab trap. Thanks to their dedicated rescuer and transporter, Sammarye, the bird was transferred without delay to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, and then on to aquatic bird specialists, International Bird Rescue, where he is expected to recover. Watch it's rescue: