#305 AKA Lucky

As I was busy cleaning our house and Mike was finishing the dishes from breakfast we were startled by a horrible screeching sound coming from our back yard. We both ran to the window and were surprised to see the most beautiful Seagull who was obviously hurt and very scared. I don't know if he was crying out of pain or fear or both. We both realized very quickly there was a problem with his wing as he was holding it a bit funny and although he tried several times he couldn't fly.

Being the animal lovers we are we knew we had to do something to help this bird. We called our local Audobon Society who said if I could catch him and get him there they would do what they could to save him and return him to the wild.

So, in my PJ's and a blanket in hand I went into the back yard and wrangled the poor thing. I think Mike got a kick out of watching me as I ran around the yard chasing him down. I cornered him and tossed the blanket on him which immediately calmed him down. After that I put him in a box and drove him to the Audubon Society where they were expecting him.

The Audubon Society of Portland, for those of you who don't know is a volunteer ran facility which is devoted to saving birds. They had a beautiful Falcon in the lobby area who they rescued in 1992 after it got hit by a car. The bird never fully recovered and so they have kept him there where you can see him and he seems very safe and happy. They depend on sales from their gift shop and also from private donations in order to stay afloat. They were so friendly and seemed to take great pride and care in helping our feathered friends. I was very impressed and relieved they were there.

They did a quick check and found out our friend had what seemed to be just a flesh wound. They are going to do an X-ray just to make sure the wing isn't broken but it looks good so far. They named him #305 but I thought that was a bit impersonal so I've named him Lucky. They told me I could call tomorrow and check on his status and also find out just what kind of Gull he is. They did say they didn't know for sure as he is much different than the other gulls indigenous to the area.

Anyway, I'm sure Lucky (#305) will be back in the swing of things before he knows it.