begin running

This was the first easy run after a few days off. As I headed down the hill through the park I noticed a few people staring at a large bird sitting on the ground so I decided to stop and see if it was OK.

As we watched from a distance I hoped the bird would fly off, or at least get out of harms way. Instead he half fluttered, half stumbled into the middle of the road and then stopped. I didn’t realize what the bird was at first as it was dark with speckled plumage, but that distinctive beak and neck meant it had to be a young cormorant.

As nobody else was keen to do anything I decided to take the bird to a rescue center. Fortunately a dog walker lent me their jacket to throw over the bird and on the second attempt I managed to pick it up without harming the bird or getting pecked in the face. A couple leaving their house offered a pillow case to cover it’s head, but no one offered me a lift home!

I then had an interesting mile long walk during which most of the birds parasites jumped on me and started to bite. In the end I got the bird to a rescue center where it’ll be well cared for and released when fit.

It’s amazing what you can come across when out running.