Rare Aquatic Bird Gets Trapped In Sonoma Pond

SONOMA (BCN) -- Wildlife capture specialists headed to Sonoma Saturday afternoon to try to capture an elusive aquatic bird that is trapped in a manmade pond.

WildRescue, a Monterey-based organization that specializes in the rescue of wildlife in danger, attempted to capture a loon that was trapped in a manmade pond in southern Sonoma that is surrounded by a high chain link fence, said Rebecca Dmytryk, the organization's founder.

The loon, which is about the size of a chicken, is trapped because of the way it takes flight, Dmytryk said.

"(Loons) have to have a long stretch of watery runway to take flight, and with the fence in the way, it can't gain the 6 to 8 feet of elevation that fast," she said.

The owners of the property that contains the pond realized the bird was trapped and called Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, which notified WildRescue.

"Thankfully the owners of the property did their own research," Dmytryk said. "These folks were really on top of it."

The organization will be debuting a new trap, a "pop-up pen" to try to capture the bird, which is "very hard to catch," Dmytryk said.

"They don't walk on land, so the only opportunity to get them is in water, and they dive," she said.

The Fairfield-based International Bird Rescue Research Center is also collaborating with WildRescue and the Sonoma County agency to save the bird.

"It's kind of an exciting thing," Dmytryk said. "All three organizations are working together to help this one poor little bird."

The rescue effort was scheduled to take place some time between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., she said.

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