Trapped seabird rescued from Portrush harbour thanks to kind-hearted passers-by
A seabird which had been trapped in fishing line with barbs through its neck and foot was rescued from Portrush Harbour thanks to some kind-hearted passers-by.
A post on the social media Facebook page ‘Portmagic’ revealed that a Red Throated Diver had been trapped for two days in the town’s harbour.
Posting photos on the page, Ian Cooke expressed his gratitude to the people who were involved in rescuing the bird on Sunday, November 2.
Mr Cooke, who is a member of the USPCA Wildlife Rescue Team, wrote: “I want to say a massive thank you to the family that helped rescue the Red Throated Diver from the harbour today.
"The son braved the cold water with his wet suit and brought the bird to shore where I was able to free him from the fishing line. The bird had a barb through the right foot and a barb in its neck.
"The bird had been trapped for at least 2 days.
"A big thank you to everyone in the Portrush Portstewart RNLI Fundraising shop who reported him to the USPCA. Also thank you to Causeway Boats who offered to help with the rescue.”
Mr Cooke, who untangled the bird from the fishing line, later posted that the bird had been checked over by a vet and had been released back “where he belongs”.