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.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Wenny Yap // Jan 15, 2009 at 10:29 pm
It’s wonderful of you to have gone thru all the trouble. In the end, look at the benefit. You gain more by losing more as you had to walk a mile home! Good for you!
2 beginrunning // Jan 16, 2009 at 3:26 am
@Wenny – It all worked out well in the end as I heard from the rescue center that they released the cormorant a couple of weeks later in full health
3 Natalie // Jul 30, 2009 at 4:35 am
I had exactly the same experience on a street in Belfast although it did manage to peck me in the face and hands which has given me two small scars and I had to get a tetanus injection. It was the night of my Christmas work party and I had to go with a band aid on my face!! If only I’d thought of the pillow idea and thank goodness i was wearing glasses!
4 beginrunning // Jul 30, 2009 at 2:43 pm
@Natalie -you had a lucky escape, that beak is really scary and they’re strong and fast. I wonder if your friends believed the explanation for the band aid, especially as it was Christmas Party Night!
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