Swan With Fishing Hook In Beak Freed In Suffolk

MIDDLE ISLAND, NY — A swan with a hook in its eye at Bartlett Pond Park in Middle Island was freed earlier this month, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation said.

An environmental control officer was called to the pond on April 1o for a report of a swan with a hook in its eye and/or beak at the park, where two Brookhaven public safety officers and a volunteer from a local wildlife rehabilitator were trying to capture the bird with a fishing net, according to the DEC.

The officer captured the bird using a pair of waders and a catchpole, with help from the public safety officers and the volunteer, the DEC said. The officer then safely removed a hook embedded in the swan’s beak, and the bird was returned to the water "with no obvious ill effects from the hook,"according to the DEC.

To make sure there were no further incidents, the officer removed additional hooks, bobbers, and fishing line from nearby vegetation. The DEC is now reminding anglers to recover snagged lines and hooks when done fishing.