When a Fishing Session turned into an Osprey Rescue.

On Wednesday, the 23rd of September, I had arranged to go fishing with Simon Poynter, whom I had met on a chance encounter a few weeks back at a mark where I fish. He was fishing with another guy and stopped to speak to me as they came past. I told them who I was and that I had the Kernow Bass Facebook group and website; they both replied that they had joined the group recently. They both explained how they were new to lure fishing for bass and had been coarse fishermen. Simon asked if he could message me a few questions, so that I could give him some advice, to which I gladly said yes. Over the next few weeks, I gave him some advice on what I have learned so far. He asked if he could meet up with me for a session just to watch what I did and give him a few more tips. We arranged to meet and walk down the path to the estuary and tackle up (image below) before wading around the rock in front of us, where our morning was going to bring a huge surprise.

I asked Simon to take this picture, although I wish I didn't have it and Osy was flying free and not injured. This was a lifetime moment, holding a wild osprey in my arms that I had rescued and was trying to help. We proceeded inside to the reception, where a few people were amazed to see me bring in Osy. I hope they didn’t look at me too much with my fishing hoodie, waders on, and an osprey wrapped in a pink towel—what a sight! I said to the receptionist that he is still in my arms and I can carry him to where Osy needed to go, so we were taken around the back and I placed Osy into a cage. We went back into reception where I had to give a few details on a form as the expenses were going to be covered by the RSPB. I asked if a vet could call me later with an update or if I would ring later, and then we left to go back fishing.

I love my nature and wildlife. Growing up on a farm, I was always surrounded by it, and when I'm out fishing, I love to see it. I will often pause and see what kind of bird flew past me. Several times I usually hear their call before they whizz past. The beautiful colors of the kingfishers, who often land in the bushes nearby, chirp abuse at me as I'm there in my fishing spot, but they are also brave and dive for a fish beside me. But there are so many others to list. Little Egrets are plentiful; Herons, Ducks, and Geese are a few. A few weeks back, when I was at the same mark, I was blessed to witness an Osprey come over me at low level, who wasn't expecting me to be there. Of course, it spooked and headed out into the river. I continued to watch it as it looked like it was hunting, and a minute later, I witnessed it dive for a fish but ended in a miss, then continued on its original flight path. A grand show for a few minutes.

As we waded around the rocks to the little beach, there right beside us was a big bird of prey. At first sight, we thought it was tethered to a piece of string and was thrashing itself around; then I spotted the broken wing. I made the instinctive decision to help it, but this wasn’t a buzzard, it was much bigger, and then I realized and said to Simon, "It's an osprey." I can’t remember exactly what I said, but it was somewhere along the lines of, "I’ve got to help it." I remember Simon saying a few times, "Watch yourself with those talons and beak," which I was aware of. I believe that animals and birds can sense when people want to help them. I think it was a young one and maybe a bit calmer than an adult. I hate using the word "it" as I wasn’t sure if it was male or female, so I am going to call it Osy. I know Osy was exhausted for sure and may have been in the water at high tide. Osy kind of got into a sitting position, and that’s when I decided I was going to try and make a grab. I took off my cap and placed it over Osy’s head, then gently grabbed the body and picked up Osy.

Now I had secured Osy, and I asked Simon if I could contact a vet to see if they could take Osy. Could he drive there if I held the bird? So we walked back to the cars and put all our fishing tackle in mine. We wrapped Osy in a couple of towels Simon had and jumped into his car. I managed to get a hold of Cawlton Vets in Callington; they were 15 minutes away and our best hope for Osy. I think the poor receptionist thought I was pulling her leg when I told her I had an osprey with a broken wing and if they could take it. She asked one of the vets, and the answer was yes, bring Osy to them. I said we would be there in 15 minutes. Being wrapped in a towel, Osy was remarkably calm, and we seemed to arrive at the vets quickly. Image Below.

Later that day I called the vets for an update. I knew in my heart that the break was bad and Osy was bleeding from a wound, but I knew the vets would do as much as they could. The news was that Osy was being sedated to have some x-rays done, and the vet would give me a call later. The following morning came and no word on Osy. I was passing by the vets and popped in for some news. Osy was still there, had some x-rays done, and was being medicated. I asked for another call back from the vet. Simon messaged me in the evening and said he had gone fishing at the same place. He spoke to an ornithologist who had been taking photos of the Ospreys down there and showed Simon some lovely photos. We had wondered how Osy had broken his wing; maybe a collision with a tree, but the Ornithologist suggested it could more likely be when Osy was trying to catch a fish and struck a rock below the surface, which is very feasible as we had a lot of rainfall recently and the river was brown, so it was likely a terrible accident for Osy.

So we got delayed by about an hour, but that didn't matter; we had been given a chance to see that beautiful bird, and I would do it again if I needed to. We fished the tide out for a couple of hours, with Simon losing a small bass. The fishing didn't really matter as what we had experienced could not have been bettered that day. And we also saw another Osprey flying along the river and heading up to where we had found Osy. Was it a mate or a parent? We will never know.

On Friday evening, I decided to go back down to the mark again to fish for a couple of hours. Again, no fish, but as I looked across the river, I was greeted by a wonderful sight. Flying down the river right in front of me was another Osprey, who gracefully turned and headed up to where we found Osy, the same one we saw on Tuesday. Who knows, was it Osy's mate, parent, or a sibling? All I know is that although Osy is gone, other ospreys live on in the same place, and I hope they will continue for future generations to come. Thank you, Osy, for that lifetime experience I shared with you. Thank you, Simon, for your assistance in helping me, and to Cawlton Vets, who did all they could for Osy. Steve @ Kernow Bass.

Thursday came, and I still hadn't heard anything from the vet, so I popped in to see them, fingers crossed, hoping he was still with us. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. They told me that the break had punctured through the skin and had seriously damaged the wing, and in turn, that the bleeding was not controllable. They made the decision to put Osy to sleep. It was not the outcome I wished for, but seeing the damage, Osy would have needed a miracle to recover from that. Simon and I did what we could, and the vets did all they could too.