Rare bird found tangled in fishing line in Los Angeles

A rare bird normally found in the Arctic Circle and Canada ended up Los Angeles where it sadly got tangled in fishing line earlier this month.

The yellow-billed loon is being treated for injuries by workers with International Bird Rescue, the nonprofit said in a news release on Wednesday.

The bird was first spotted around the Cabrillo Beach Pier on Jan. 19 with fishing line wrapped around its body and wings, causing limited mobility.

Onlookers first alerted lifeguards, and marine rescue workers later showed up and captured the bird, removed the fishing line, and moved the loon to International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles Wildlife Center.

“We are incredibly grateful to members of the public who alerted rescuers to this injured and entangled bird,” said CEO J.D. Bergeron. “Without the quick reporting and rescue, birds in crisis often succumb to these human-caused injuries.”

Yellow-billed loons, which are listed as a near-threatened species, spend their summers on high Arctic tundra and winters in Southern Alaska and coastal British Columbia. Experts say they are found only in very small numbers south of the U.S.-Canada border.

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Local Audubon members issued a “rare bird alert” when it was first spotted in the Los Angeles Harbor area.

“During intake, clinic staff discovered wounds on both of its wings as well as the sides of its mouth,” the bird rescue said. “It is recovering in a pelagic deep-water pool alongside a Common Loon who is also a victim of fishing line entanglement.”

The nonprofit is soliciting donations to care for the loon and other rescued birds. Tap here to donate.

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