21/08/2026
Over the course of a few weeks multiple people had apparently seen an Eurasian coot at a suburban lake with something entangled around its feet.
To date it had been unable to be contained when we were alerted to it. Latest report was that it was caught in some reeds so my colleague Steff and I headed there to see if we could help.
When we arrived we searched the reeds and area it was last seen extensively but couldn’t find it.
Hoping that someone maybe had managed to finally catch it we left the lake empty handed.
A few days later I found myself in the area so thought I would go and have a look around the lake to see if I could spot the coot should it perhaps still be around.
As I walked towards the water I noticed quite a few moorhens as well as coots grazing on the embankment. As I approached I noticed a moorhen sitting on the grass not moving much as I came near. I was fairly easily able to catch her and found that her leg was bleeding and she was struggling to walk. I popped her into a carrier then continued to walk around.
Then I spotted it. The coot with some sort of white fabric dragging behind one leg. It was on the grass which was the best place to catch a water bird as once in the water they are in their element and can be very difficult to. Plus I wasn’t equipped to go into the water today as hadn’t come prepared to.
As I approached the bird it immediately started to head towards the lake, extremely wary of me. Despite a couple of close swings with my net it managed to get into the water. I had some food in my car and tried for around 45 mins to tempt it to come closer to me. I think I fed every bird at the lake with the exception of the one that I actually wanted to . Finally, out of food and with the bird having swum out into the middle of the lake, I called it a day. I spoke to Steff and we made plans to try again two days later.
Meanwhile I headed to Kay at Wild Days Wildlife Shelter with the moorhen. It appeared that the bird had likely had a fish hook or similar caught through its foot but had managed to rip it out on its own. As hooks are usually barbed it had done some damage coming out and after careful assessment by Kay and X-rays by a vet, it was found had a badly broken foot and other damage. Sadly the injuries were too extensive to be able to heal properly for it to survive adequately in the wild, so the bird ended up having to be euthanised.
Two days later, Steff and I each made our own way back to the lake with Steff arriving first. She called me. The coot was there sitting in the lake but close to shore and appearing to be sleeping. Should she try to scoop it up with her net or wait for me to arrive and we have a better chance of catching with one on either side? I told her to go for it if she thought she had a good chance. By the time I got there a few minutes later it may have swum away so now would be a good as time as any.
As I drove I anxiously waited for an update. It soon came. She had caught it and it was now safely contained. It had a fish hook through one leg with fishing line entangled around both legs and some discarded fabric that had also been caught up by the hook dragging behind the poor bird as it had been trying to continue surviving, no doubt making swimming, flying and walking that much more difficult. It would also have been in quite a bit of pain and discomfort.
We decided that Steff should take the coot straight to Kay at Wild Days Wildlife Shelter to safely remove the fishing tackle from its legs and assess the damage which she did.
Amazingly once all of the rubbish had been removed it was found there was no major damage. Also through some kind of miracle, despite the hook having been in its foot for weeks as the coot foraged in and around the dirty water of the lake, the wound was clean with no sign of infection. The bird would likely just need a short stay in care to heal then could be released back to its home! One out of two is pretty good as most fishing tackle entanglements don’t usually end well.
Please, we implore anyone who likes to fish recreationally. Try to take any discarded hooks, line and tackle with you when you leave. Please try to remove it from the waterway to save the wildlife from living there from getting entangled.
