Caught In Kite String, Seagull Suspended In Midair 50 Feet Up, Saved

BRANFORD, CT —Just another in a near-endless line of 'it takes a village' rescues from Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter.

It all began Tuesday morning when a neighbor called to say a seagull, who was caught in kite string, was suspended in midair around 50 feet up between two trees.

According to Laura Burban, animal shelter director, a "kite was caught from one tree onto another tree and the seagull unfortunately got caught up in the kite string."

"People who are doing extracurricular activities such as kiting should be thoughtful about retrieving the kite after they’re using it because these unfortunate incidents happen with our wildlife," it was recommended by animal shelter staff.

But back to the rescue. Always ready to help, the Branford Fire Department was pressed into service but, as was noted, "Unfortunately, this time their bucket truck could not manipulate into the area where this poor bird was stuck."

This was not the first time firefighters were called to help affect a rescue.

"Saving lives is our mission, we assess each animal rescue situation independently, perform a risk benefit analysis and act accordingly. If we can safely use our resources to accomplish the rescue, we will. It also has a training value where we can identify short falls in the tactics and equipment we would use to rescue a person in a similar situation," Fire Chief Tom Mahoney said. "A few years ago, we were able to help several struggling deer that had fallen through the ice and couldn’t get out. During the rescue, we learned that our communication and other equipment was inadequate. We upgraded and now feel we are better able to rapidly perform ice rescue for both man or beast."

Patch recalls when Branford firefighters rescued a horse stuck deep in the mud of a tidal marsh, for example.

But back to the seagull suspended in midair.

After some brainstorming and coordination, "our amazing friends at J. Witkowsky & Sons Tree Service LLC saved the day once again."

"These fabulous guys were actually in training for a new piece of equipment they just purchased . It turned out to be a wonderful twist of fate because that equipment was just what we needed to manipulate itself to save this bird's life," Burban said. "So right after they finished training, they headed our way."

Josh Witkowsky explained that he and his brothers, Jake and Jonathan, who run the business with their father John who founded it a quarter-century ago, were just wrapping up training and certification on the new equipment, a spider lift, when they got the call. Around 45 minutes later, they were en route from North Branford.

"It was obviously a call that we're not used to, but we're always happy to help any way we can," he told Patch. "That's how our father raised us."

John Witkowsky told Patch that when they can be of service, especially for non-traditional calls, they'll do their best.

"I was born and raised in Branford and I deal a lot with Branford public works and the town," he said. "We try to help them out. We'll always do what we can."

In this video, Witkowsky can be seen performing a high-wire rescue.

He explained that the seagull, caught in kite string, was "winding in the wind at least 50 feet up." Witkowsky said it was his first "really up-close encounter" with a gull. One, he likely won't soon forget.

"It kept trying to peck at me, so I put a blanket over him," he explained.

Saving a seagull is far from routine, but he said that whatever job they're called to do, they get it right.

"We take pride in absolutely everything we do," he said. Including bird-saving.

Burban said the rescue was nothing short of amazing.

"Lucky for this bird, these amazing guys knew just how to handle him, manipulate the kite string once they were up there, and remove everything, so no other wildlife is harmed."

Once in hand and safely on the ground, the gull was handed him off to animal control officers Wendy Joyce and Dawn Buffone who brought the gull to Madison Veterinary Hospital for medical care.

Michelle Staffa, a certified veterinary technician, said that when the gull arrived, it had "pretty well kind of given up" and was "listless." But not for long.

"As soon as we cut off all the string, he pepped up right away," she said. Frightened and neverous though, as they worked on him, a towel was kept over its head to "keep it feeling safe." An X-ray was taken and no broken bones were found.

"Now, he's at a local (animal) rehabber to get some R&R and to regain his strength," Staffa said. "We do what we do to be a voice for wildlife. We're always willing to help wildlife in distress."

Like we said, it takes a village.