Volunteers go on wild goose chase

Rescue group seeks to catch, help bird that has nail through its neck

By ESTHER ROBARDS-FORBES - erobards@charlotteobserver.com

CHARLOTTE — The volunteers launch two kayaks onto the misty pond in the University City area and glide quietly across the water, while three others creep along the bank with nets.

Their mission? To catch a goose with a nail through its neck.

With a rustling flap of wings, the male Canada goose, which the team believes was attacked with a nail gun, is airborne and then sliding to a stop on the other side of the pond. The kayaks turn around. And the volunteers on the banks trudge through thick mud to the other side of the pond, where they’ll try again.

For Jennifer Gordon, founder and director of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, this is a typical Sunday.

On any given day, her group — Charlotte’s only organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured and abandoned water birds — receives about 30 calls about birds. Some are reports of birds injured by predators; others are people frightened by birds attacking their reflections in windows. But more and more, Gordon is getting calls like this: a bird intentionally injured by a human: run over, shot, burned and even poisoned.

Last year Gordon’s group rescued about 900 birds and typically sees between 60 and 100 cruelty cases a year, which include the abandonment of domesticated water fowl. Her peak season starts in April and she has already had 10 cruelty calls this year.

“The cruelty is getting worse as the (human) population is growing and pushing animals out of their habitat,” Gordon says. “People just need to be more tolerant. They need to educate themselves. Most of all, they need to understand that there is a humane solution for every problem that you have with wildlife.”

Gordon doesn’t know why people harm wild birds. “Some people are just sick,” she says. Others may become angry and frustrated about a situation and not know what to do, she says.

Gordon worries the goose at the pond off Prosperity Church Road could get blood poisoning from the nail, so she wants to get him to a vet. At the same time, the volunteers are concerned about stressing the goose by chasing him too much, as that might lower his resistance to infection.

They approach his mate, who is sitting on her nest. They scoop her up and the male charges the group, wings extended and honking loudly. He narrowly evades their nets.

Gordon discovers four eggs in the nest that have gone bad from being too close to the water. The group now faces a dilemma.

Normally, in a case of bad eggs, the rescue team will remove them so the mated pair can move on and try again in another location. Otherwise they will stay with the bad eggs indefinitely, despite the fact that they will never hatch.

In this case, however, they want the male to stay where he is so that he can be cared for, so they leave the eggs where they are.

Catching the elusive goose is certainly not the first challenge faced by Gordon and the approximately 20 volunteers of the group. They lost their rescue center, off Idlewild Road near Mint Hill, earlier this year when the owner chose to sell the land.

They’ve found a new, temporary home on private property off Providence Road in Matthews, but they’re still searching for a permanent home. The group runs entirely on donations.

But Gordon, who has been known to leave work at Wachovia Insurance Services in a dress and heels to rescue an injured goose, and her volunteers stick with it.

“I just have a massive passion for these birds,” says volunteer Deanna Epps, standing near the pond in mud-caked boots. “I just hate to see them hurt and I want to do whatever I can to help.”

After several hours and no success in catching the injured goose, the team huddles on the bank of the pond, soaking wet, caked in mud and very tired. They decide to leave antibiotics to stave off infection.

They’ll try again later in the week with more volunteers and a clam-shell trap that can be sprung from a distance.

Besides, there is a group of baby ducks that was trapped by a homeowner in Matthews that needs to be picked up and taken to the rescue center. The team loads up its gear and heads on to the next call.

Esther Robards-Forbes is a reporter for The Charlotte Observer, a McClatchy newspaper.