Leonardo da Vinci

PW Volunteers - Always On Call!
by Rebecca Glissman

I had the most wonderful story relayed to me recently. A Project Wildlife volunteer (who asked to remain anonymous) and a friend decided to head into La Jolla for dinner. As they traveled east on Prospect Street, they noticed a juvenile seagull in the middle of the road. The friend asked, "What do you think is wrong with it?" The PW volunteer replied, "It's probably just too young to fly." They sped up a bit to see if they could get the bird to fly off. No luck. He couldn't get more than a foot off the ground.

The PW volunteer got out of the car and followed the seagull, while the friend and the rest of the traffic crawled along after them. Thankfully, the bird turned south onto Herschel, a much quieter street, with the volunteer in pursuit. The PW volunteer tried valiantly to capture the wayward seagull with a straw beach hat. I suppose it goes without saying that this proved totally useless. Two handsome gentlemen in a black convertible Mercedes stopped traffic for the bird and the rescuers. The volunteer's friend remembered the blanket in her trunk and joined in the foot chase. To add to the drama, over 25 adult seagulls were circling and squawking overhead.

Finally, the seagull made it to the sidewalk and headed towards a wall. By now, enough people had stopped to help that they had the bird cornered. The PW volunteer threw the blanket over the frightened bird and bundled him up. Bob Grassa, proprietor of Bob's Casa del Habano, was one of the very helpful bystanders. He told the PW volunteer that seagulls had been nesting on the roof of Hotel Parisi for the past several years. The PW volunteer asked Mr. Grassa if he thought the hotel would let her put the bird back, thinking she knew the answer. To her surprise, he said that he did & proceeded to call the hotel on his cell phone. Even more surprising was that, moments later, Matt appeared from the hotel.

The PW volunteer, Matt and the seagull, who by now had a child's soccer jersey covering its head, made their way across the street and through the lobby of the very elegant Hotel Parisi. Along the way, Travis from the hotel's front desk joined the rescue party and everyone took the elevator to the third floor. To the PW volunteer's horror, the only way to reach the nest site was to climb a narrow ladder to a hatch in the roof.

For those of you who have not had the privilege of seeing a juvenile seagull up close, let me assure you that they do not enjoy being wrapped in blankets and children's clothing. They also do not like to climb ladders. Fortunately, a 20-gallon plastic cooler was located and the seagull was gently tucked inside. With the PW volunteer on the floor, Travis in the middle of the ladder, and Matt at the top, the gull was slowly passed hand to hand to the roof. Once safely there, Travis and the PW volunteer followed.

Relief washed over the volunteer, but was quickly replaced with renewed horror: there was not a single adult gull to be found! Where did they go? Then, a lone adult began circling the roof. The PW volunteer opened the cooler and gave the seagull a little shove. Suddenly, the sky was filled with squawking seagulls and the youngster answered right back. With the pride and ear-to-ear grins of new parents, the rescue team headed back down the ladder and out of the hotel.

It would've been so easy for everyone involved to just ignore the little seagull. Mr. Grassa, the gentlemen in the black Mercedes, Matt and Travis from Hotel Parisi, the volunteer's friend and all of the bystanders could've taken the easy way out. The Project Wildlife volunteer could've simply packed up the little guy and dropped him off at the Project Wildlife Emergency Care Hospital. But they didn't take the easy way out. They took the time to capture the bird and put him back where he belonged.

Many birds are brought to Project Wildlife when all they needed was a helpful hand to replace them in their nest. We have a lot of great information on our website at www.projectwildlife.org. Be sure to visit it soon. When you come across a bird or mammal in need, you'll know what to do, too.

We'd like to extend our most heartfelt thanks to our volunteer and her friend, Bob Grassa of Bob's Casa del Habano, Matt and Travis and the management of Hotel Parisi, the two men in the black Mercedes, and all of the other anonymous bystanders.

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Back to Nature newsletter is published quarterly by:
Project Wildlife
4343 Morena Blvd., #7
San Diego, CA 92117

Project Wildlife is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of San Diego County Wildlife. Project Wildlife is also dedicated to the education of San Diego County residents on local wildlife and how to coexist with local mammals and birds.

To get in touch with Project Wildlife, see our contact page

Editor: Rebecca Glissman

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