Two male Long-tailed Ducks were brought to our clinic by a commercial diver who found them entangled in fishing line and with hooks embedded in their wings. The hooks were removed and their wounds cleaned and sutured. One of the wounds had closed, they were moved into an outdoor cage with a pool.
One of the drakes recuperated quickly and was released back into the wild. The other duck had a significant injury from the hook and required a little more time to fully recuperate. About a week after the first, the second drake was ready for release and was returned to the open waters.
We were delighted to be able to return both of these handsome winter visitors to the wild.
View their story in the video below. We thank our friends at the Delaware Center For The Inland Bays for the release photographs!