Injured kite profits from Kiwis

News source: Sunshine Coast Sunday April 29, 2007
By Alan Lander

WHEN New Zealand couple Dennis and Sharon Proffitt landed on the Sunshine Coast to take an Aussie holiday, they didn't realise they would star in a dramatic wildlife rescue.

Each day last week, as they enjoyed the serenity of Pelican Waters, they were also watching the slow potential demise of a beautiful young Brahminy kite without realising it.

They had been watching the bird on a tree outside their house, and initially thought he was behaving in a normal way.

"We thought he was coming and going," Sharon said.

"But, after a couple of days, we thought 'why is he always back at the same branch?'.

"On Wednesday, I thought he doesn't look like he's standing properly, he was flapping his wings."

Sharon said the couple did not know anything about Australian bird species.

"On Thursday morning he was falling further, about the five o'clock position," Sharon said.

And that's when they rang for help.

The Proffitts called the local fire brigade which, in turn, contacted a Wildlife Volunteer (Wilvo) and Australia Zoo's Wildlife Hospital.

"The firies brought the ladder, but there was no access for their truck, so the Wildlife Hospital staff went up and got the bird down," Wilvo Sharyn Rosewarne said.

"Its feet were bound with fishing line.

"Hospital avian specialist Stacey Gelis removed the line on the spot, and he was taken to the hospital."

Ms Rosewarne said birds often used fishing line to make or line nests, but the careless discarding of fishing materials made the environment unsafe for a wide range of wildlife.

Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital yesterday said the re-hydrated kite was in a stable condition, but its future was uncertain.