Westmoreland Maintenance Crew Rescues Loon Bird from Interstate 70
February 19, 2024 02:00 PM
This past November, Foreman, Jeremy Smith and Operators, Matt Shipley and Jim Zorzi from the Bilo Shed rescued a loon bird from Interstate 70.
The bird was on the center line of the westbound lanes near the Yukon exit. The crew stopped traffic and turned on the truck lights alerting traffic of a hazard.
They were able to safely rescue the bird, which had an injured and bleeding foot. The crew wrapped it in a sweatshirt and transported it to Wildlife Works Inc. in Youngwood. The loon, with a 4.5-foot wingspan, was migrating south from Canada.
Loons cannot take off from the land; they need to be in water. The bird may have confused the road water, which could explain how it injured its foot. Wildlife Works Inc. treated the injury and then took the loon to Greenlick Dam in Mt. Pleasant so it could take off from the water and fly away. Safe travels, Loon!