Injured Swan Gets Some Assistance Monday Morning

During a morning walk on Georgica Beach Bill Williams came across an unsightly swan curled up on the sand.

"We came over the dune and we saw this swan all bloodied," said Williams, a real estate agent who lives in Wainscott. "At first I thought she got shot by an arrow, but when I got closer I could see a six-inch fishing lure with two treble hooks," he said.

One was hooked in the swan's beak, the other in a wing.

He called for help, and while waiting for East Hampton Marine Patrol officer, he tried to get the hooks out, starting first with the wing. He only managed to get the one hook out of the beak. "Of course, she went crazy after that," he said.

To try and keep her still, he threw his jacket on her, but she squirmed away and the jacket got caught on the hook, and in the process, the hook came out, he said.

Because there was a fox nearby when he first arrived, Williams walked the swan down to Georgica Pond. "She got right in the pond and she swam away," he said.

He went back down there about an hour later and found the swan preening and plucking. Most of the blood was washed away.

Volunteers with the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons, which is based in Hampton Bays and serves the East End, responded to try and catch her so they could evaluate her condition.

On Monday afternoon, Ginnie Frati, the executive director, said they hadn't been able to catch the swan, as it was out in the water.

Frati recommends that people who discovered injured animals and waterfowl not try to touch the animal. "We kind of like to look at it ourselves if we can."

Frati said the center receives "a tremendous amount" of calls for injured swans and seagulls, wrapped up in fishing line. "It's a big problem and it seems to get worse every year."

If you see an injured animal call the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons at 631-728-WILD (9453).