Ottawa Fire Services had a decidedly different kind of call on Tuesday afternoon — not a blaze or a car crash, but a bird in distress.
A tangled situation
Crews from the department's water rescue team responded to reports of a kingfisher caught in fishing line and stuck in a tree. The bird had become hopelessly tangled in the line, leaving it stranded well off the ground and unable to free itself.
Ottawa firefighters described it as a "unique rescue," and it's easy to see why. Water rescue specialists are typically trained for pulling people out of the Ottawa River or responding to ice emergencies on the Rideau Canal, not untangling wildlife from fishing gear dozens of feet in the air. But the team's equipment and rope skills translated well to the job at hand.
How the rescue unfolded
Using specialized gear more commonly associated with technical rope rescues, firefighters were able to reach the trapped kingfisher and carefully cut away the fishing line without injuring the bird further. Kingfishers are known for their sharp bills and feisty temperament, so handling one safely takes a careful approach even for experienced rescuers.
Once freed, the bird was able to fly off, a relief for the crew who spent the effort making sure the rescue went smoothly. Fishing line entanglements are a recurring hazard for birds near Ottawa's waterways, where anglers cast lines along the Ottawa River, Rideau Canal, and the city's many creeks and ponds. Discarded or snagged line can wrap around branches, and any bird that flies through or lands nearby risks getting caught.
A reminder for anglers
Wildlife rescues like this one are a good reminder for local anglers to be mindful of where fishing line ends up. Line that snaps off or gets left behind doesn't just disappear — it can linger in trees and shoreline brush for years, posing an ongoing risk to birds, small mammals, and even pets.
Ottawa is home to a wide variety of bird species along its waterways, from herons and ospreys to kingfishers like the one rescued this week. The city's fire department has occasionally been called on for animal-related incidents before, but incidents involving specialized water rescue gear and a tangled tree-bound bird stand out as particularly memorable.
For now, the kingfisher is back in the wild, free of its fishing line snare, thanks to a team more used to pulling people from the water than birds from the trees. It's a small but heartwarming story out of a city where firefighters are ready for just about anything — even the unexpected ones.
Source: CBC Ottawa
