What A Stressful 36 Hours
June 05, 2013 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Sue McCreadie Reports:
Oh my goodness, it has been an unbelievable 36 hours. Yesterday morning (June 4th), when Bill and David Williams arrived at the Lift Bridge, it was very difficult to figure out what had happened in the early morning. They determined that Hadfield was in a very dangerous spot walking a large beam on the Hamilton Tower directly above the roadway. What was a very dangerous spot turned into a heartbreaking situation. By the time I got to the Bridge around 10am, she had fallen into a hole in the beam where she was trapped. We watched her all day as we tried to figure out a way of getting at her. Could we phone the Fire Department? Could we get the Construction Company working on the Skyway to volunteer their Scissor Lift? Could we get at her with a net and a very long Pole? Would the Lift Bridge stop the traffic while we tried the rescue? Tracy Simpson from CPF arrived around dinner time to assess the situation. It was decided that we couldn’t do anything more last night. Mark Nash from CPF was going to get on it and see if he could get a Scissor Lift and approach the Lift Bridge about good time and if they would stop traffic. When we arrived this morning (June 5th) she was still trapped. It was very hard to watch her as she walked back forth inside the beam looking for a way out. Well, around 4pm this afternoon, she managed to get herself out and was on the roadway just under the guardrail with cars and trucks passing within inches of her. Shawn (sorry I don’t recall his last name), who had spent the last couple of days with us watching and photographing the family noticed her on the road. He ran and notified us and rescue protocol was started. First it was up the stairs to locate her, then down the stairs to the Control Tower to get the traffic stopped. Finally back up the stairs for the rescue. She was just barely clear of the traffic, but once the traffic was stopped, Bill and Barry Cherriere, were able to grab her, get her into a rescue box and moved her to the safety of the Control Tower. A call was placed to Mark Nash. Mark and Marion arrived around 7pm. Mark went over Hadfield with a fine tooth comb and it was determined that she was fit to release. So Mark took her up to the roof of the Tower and released her. Mom and Dad were circling and alarm calling as they don’t like you on the roof. Mark retreated and within minutes Dad arrived and delivered a meal. So awesome. When we left at dusk, she was still on the roof and after a meal we hoped she would stay there for the night.
While all this was going on yesterday (June 4th) we determined that Lancaster was no longer in the box. So the search began for him. He was located on one of the cross beams of the Burlington Tower. He spent most of the day walking the beams, exploring his new environment. Late afternoon he decided to make a move. He tried to step onto a ladder that he thought he could climb down. Not successful. He fell off and took a very short flight to the top of the bridge span. He could walk the beams of the whole bridge. When we arrived this morning (June 5th) he was still on the same beam as where we left him. Throughout the day he made a few short running flights. This evening he tried again. He made a good strong flight around the towers, with some failed attempts to land. His final attempt had him land back in the same spot where he was this morning.
So when we left at dark, we had Hadfield on the roof of the Hamilton Tower, Lancaster on the bridge and the two girls Isabelle and Sarah still in the nest box.
To Thank: Bill McCreadie, Barry Cherriere, David and Rob Williams, Shawn, Mark and Marion Nash and all PWGSC for all the assistance.
Whew, what a stressful day. What will tomorrow bring. I hope they behave as the weather forecast is calling for rain.
We will post more photos as soon as we get a chance to process.
