Little corella. THE beautiful short-billed corella pictured here had a lucky escape from a grisly fate thanks to the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service.
The bird was tangled in fishing line with another corella until WIRES came to the rescue.
“They had inflicted terrible damage on each other with feathers missing from tails, eye damage and both birds were bleeding from various wounds on their bodies,” Pam Strykowski, of WIRES, said. “The fishing line had also caused terrible injuries.
“Fishing line is a common hazard especially for seabirds but any bird which inhabits the coast is vulnerable to entanglement.
“Fishing hooks also cause serious internal injuries so please take everything with you when you pack up your fishing gear to prevent injury to our wildlife.”
Ms Strykowski is one of dozens of volunteers who rescue and care for wildlife throughout the Central Coast, releasing them back to the wild once they are rehabilitated.
“Last year, the Central Coast branch received 2921 calls to injured or distressed native animals,” Ms Strykowski said.
“New members are especially needed in areas such as Umina Beach, Woy Woy, Patonga and Pearl Beach.”
To fund its work, WIRES will hold a garage sale at Gosford District Scout Hall, Gertrude Place, Gosford, at 8am on March 26.