Wings across the border?

What has wings but can’t cross the border? Injured birds, it seems.

Dave and Jonquil Armstrong were mailing some letters a few days ago at the post office when a couple walking by told them of an injured bird on the road by the community center. There they found an injured blue heron huddled on the shoulder.

Placing a towel over the bird, the two good Samaritans took the bird home, put her in a bin in a darkened garage and gave it some water. So far, so good. After calling around to various agencies, they found Wildlife Rescue in Burnaby would take the bird in and care for it. However, when it came time to get it there, the bird was denied entry by Canada.

“When I pointed out that blue herons fly across the border both ways on their own all of the time, they just shrugged,” he said, referring to the Canada Border Services officers he spoke with. “There’s a lack of common sense,” said Dave.

Eventually, the Armstrongs hooked up with a Washington State Fish and Wildlife officer named Taylor who drove up from Bellingham, picked up the bird and took it to an animal rescue group in the county. Unfortunately, the bird later died from its injuries. According to the F&W officer, x-rays taken showed the bird had head injuries and a broken hip, most likely from being hit by a car.

This is not the first time a bird has had issues getting into Canada to be treated for injuries. Back in May, the fire department rescued an injured eagle on Maple Beach, took it up to the border and had a hard time trying to take it to a rescue outfit before being allowed to cross.