Davey Tree Flipbooks

The reunited family of great horned owls in a new, safe nest in a slash pine tree. D avey has many services to offer clients—from commercial and residential services to tree and environmental consultations and expertise. But, many times, local residents and fire departments do not have the necessary means to rescue animals, whether it is due to the height at which the animal is located on the tree or possible risky tree conditions. Davey offices from coast to coast have been helping animals in precarious situations and returning them to safer environments. Generally, weekends are for relaxing, but not when you get a phone call that an owlet has taken a 50-foot plunge from its nest. Dan Powell, Naples R/C district manager, was contacted by the Conservancy of South- west Florida, a center that protects wildlife environments and animals in the area in which District Manager Dan Powell holds the uninjured owlet that took a 50-foot plunge. Glen Olson, safety manager at S&S Tree, was enjoying some leisure time while attending an annual safety meeting in Clearwater Beach, Florida, when he encountered a distressed seabird caught in a fishing line. "I wondered, does one call 9-1-1 for a bird rescue?" Olson asked himself. "I thought not." Instead of calling for immediate help, Olson, along with another observer on the beach, rescued the bird. First, to protect themselves from the 5-inch beak on the bird, they gently and safely put a t-shirt on the head of the bird, snipped the fishing line off the leg and removed two hooks from the bird's wing. When the bird did not immediately fly off, Olson had a feeling the bird was either too injured or exhausted to flee the area. After additional gatherers on the beach grew con- The fishing line and hooks that were removed. A 120-foot Chase Mark Logtenberg, Victoria, British Columbia district manager, started his morning just like any other, until he received a call from a dis- tressed homeowner, whose cat had been stuck in a 140-foot Douglas fir for two days. Logten- berg, Climber Louis Burgess and Groundman Sonny Roland quickly arrived to assist. As Burgess climbed closer to the cat, which was 60 feet high at the time, it began to climb higher, until reaching close to 120 feet high. Once Roland pulled a rope bag of food to Burgess, the cat came over and was lowered to safety. "Other employees from the office seemed jealous," Logtenberg explains. "They get excited when we do something for the community." Powell frequently volunteers. Powell picked up Foreman Derek Harris and headed to the residence where the owlet was located. The owlet, a baby great horned owl, had been on the ground, uninjured, away from its mother and another owlet for two days. Since there were power lines running close to the tree where the owls were currently residing, Powell and Harris decided a re-nesting was necessary. They decided upon a slash pine near the original nest. Harris climbed the tree to rescue the second owlet and return the two to the new, safer nest. "We had to create a game plan because these owls are aggressive and will attack," Powell says. "When Derek climbed the tree, the mother watched us from about 100 feet away." Harris was able to safely rescue the second owlet by putting it in a rope bag and lowering it to the ground. The owlets were re-nested and returned with the mother and adapted well to their new nest, free of power lines. "This was so rewarding and gratifying," Powell says. "It was a Sunday, but we just had to do what we needed to do to rescue these owls." cerned, one person used a phone to find a local seabird hospital, the Suncoast Seabird Sanctu- ary. The bird was then transported for proper treatment and identified as an immature gannet. As Olson confirms, "The staff said there was no reason why it wouldn't recover." Leisurely Walk-Turned-Rescue A 50-Foot Plunge to Safety September/October 2014 | 11 Climber Louis Burgess climbs a tree to rescue a cat.

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