Regency Cove Resue 911

Last Saturday night, residents sitting on Sunset Point noticed a particularly large item floating in with the evening tide. It turned out to be a large pelican, just drifting in unnaturally. Before the night was over, it had drifted into Pirate's Cove. Early in the next morning, resident Ron Jeffries went to check on the bird. It had drifted all the way to Dan Dillon's dock, and still in some kind of distress.


Ron talked to Betty Ridge who made a call to the Seabird Sanctuary. In a few hours, a volunteer arrived at the park to rescue the bird. She put her kayak into the water of Pirate's Cove, and brought the bird to shore. It was discovered that the pelican was tangled in a mass of fishing line, with several hooks penetrating its body.

One lucky boy was asked to assist in the rescue. Daniel Helbig, 11, grandson of Betty Ridge, and also Lenore and Wally Helbig, happened to be on the scene and was allowed to hold the bird (just like a football). The volunteer Liz explained how she does emergency calls such as this in her free time. She was unable to remove one of the hooks, because it was embedded in swollen tissue. She did remove all of the fishing line and one hook. The bird was taken to the sanctuary for follow-up care. The Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores is a great place to visit and to give some financial support. This story had a happy ending.