Kurt Torster
With tens of thousands of humans displaced by Superstorm Sandy, here's a nod to one wild animal made temporarily homeless by the high winds.
I saw a picture on twitter of an owl rescued from a tree in Bloomfield, NJ. The tree had reportedly been badly damaged by the storm but hadn't fallen yet. Here is what happened when utility crews responded, according to the person who took the pictures.
Alicia Borer
Tree trimming could not begin until PSEG cut power to the high tension wires. To do this, they needed to shut off the entire area of power for about 2-3 hours, which also killed power to the Parkway North Sunoco station, which was sporting about a mile long gas line at the time.
When power was finally cut . . . the cutter in the bucket moved towards the first branch when he noticed the owl. . . . The cutter went to work and delicately cut above the owl, then below and finally lowered the piece gently to the street so the owl could be rescued. After 5 minutes of photos, the cutter released the owl and he flew away.
It's not clear what kind of owl this was, but my cursory googling tells me it was an Eastern Screech-Owl, the rufous (or reddish) variety. Not an endangered species, if anyone was worrying about that. Presumably the owl has found another tree in which to perch. If only it were that easy for all the others still seeking permanent shelter.
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Aren't firefighters supposed to rescue animals from trees?
Somehow I don't think the owl made that distinction...
I imagine in much the same way New Jersey Republicans must be doing with Obama
Nah, that's cats; owls and other birds fall under tree surgeon jurisdiction. ;)
Ohh, okay. I wasn't aware there were jurisdictions.
So if a firefighter was called to get a cat out of a tree, but they later found out the cat was up the tree because it was chasing after a bird, do they have to call the tree surgeons?
I'm a Fireman, never had to deal with a Cat, But WE did rescue a $3000 Bird off a Roof for a lady.Sorry, But I have never laughed so hard in my life, If you could have heard and saw what we where doing, Got to have a sense of Humor!! I also know some say that if you spray water on them they Can't fly, Well I was not a part of that situation, But Yes they can and do Fly!! Gotta have a sense of Humor.
Wet birds can fly.
But here's a tip in case you ever need to rescue a bird. If you put something over a bird's head (such as a towel or a tablecloth) so that the bird can't see, the bird will be more or less immobilized. Birds have an instinct not to thrash around when they can't see anything. I've done this and seen it done several times. I can't guarantee that it works for every bird, but it worked every time I've seen it tried.
This was the "middle of the night" for the owl, otherwise it would have flown away on it's own when the workers approached.
You got the species right. Lived at a raptor sanctuary for the summer in Michigan, had a bunch of their cousins.
Gulliani talking about Hurricane Sandy is a little too much, especially when no one had a clue to the extent of how much this Hurricane Sandy was going to cover or even be prepared for due to Republican games for just the wealthy. Republicans have denied everybody else, except the rich to have a say in anything. And all of this has been geared by the Republicans for the rich only without any consideration for any major disasters that could occur. You look at Hurricane Katrina with Bush handling the situation, which was a total failure. President Obama has improved FEMA, but as what the Republicans have looked to so greedily take away from everybody else has caused more problems and things to fix than Republicans are actually worth. Gulliani you shouldn’t be speaking so boldly, when you have been playing footsie with the rich too much. This just means with this Hurricane Sandy that there are more things that need to be fixed and prepared for without some foolish Republicans talking their foolish crap.
THANK GOD FOR SOME POSITIVE NEW!
that's supposed to be N E W S!
Wonderful to see someone who cares like that making a difference , oh and obama wins the election
What a cute little owl!
I have nick-named him "Rufous" and wish him and his neighbors in Bloomfield well.
Gotp talking point, union employees wasting time on nature.
An "uplifting" story!!
He/she may have it easier Than the victims of the hurricane to find new living circumstances, but his/her presence and survival also depend on our consciousness of changing climate!
Excellent! Great work by that man.
If anyone knows where this picture was taken, who the gentlemen is, or what crew he was working with- I am hoping to find this information. I would like to get him a mention in the company's newsletter. If you have any information send it to Asplundh or click on my name and use contact author- Thanks!
Sources told me the crew was from Missouri. They didn't know more than that.
This event was on Sylvan Road in Bloomfield, NJ. We were told the tree crew was from Missouri. I wish I had more information to share.
Thank you for your help. I have let the company know and they have tracked down the worker in the picture. They have let me know that they will put a comment about this great work in their company magazine. Thank you all for your help!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkeJYTKUv7U&feature=g-all-u
Apparently right wingers are arguing that it's GOOD for businesses to price gouge by taking advantage of a disaster.
Hope this doesn't taint the good news of this post...just am a little annoyed. Not so much by Bryan Fischer (he always says crazy crap), but by the comments from people who seem to operate under the impression that price gouging is good and naturally reduces the likelihood of waste, fraud, and abuse.