Welcome to Friends Of WildLife

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Welcome To FOWLochmere
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FOWL Mission Statement :

We take the necessary action to protect resident Wildlife by addressing, exposing, and eliminating the root causes of WildLife cruelty.

Those supporters who are interested in contributing informational content can email us at FOWLNC@bellsouth.net       

Photos, Stories, Injured Waterbird reports, Witnessed Waterbird Cruelty, Suggestions etc... will be added to this site for educational and informational purposes and  protection of resident WaterFowl/WildLife.

Photos By Friends Of  WildLife/WaterFOWL

For more insight rent the DVD : "Fly Away Home"

Swan FAQ

Catch and Release

Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic

WildLife Rescue : Claws

Goose Shot With Arrow

Mother goose lays eggs in Raleigh church playground

Act of Kindness

WhatAreAnimalsFeelingAndThinking

RobotFlyingBird

ExcellentBirdPhotosByDale

MotherGooseGetsHelpFromPoliceman

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Swan with Injured Beak Rescued

Swan Rescue Videos ==> InjuredSwanRescue134

Swan Beak Repair ==> http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2003/november/Cousquer/Avian-Wound-Management-Part-2.html

Hooked swan rescued by Cary Animal Control and resident of ABC11 Interview at noon 5/2/2018

Many thanks to Cary Animal Control Officer and interviewed resident. While Swan was up on dry land enjoying Romain lettuce the Officer netted the swan while resident helped with removing several Barbed Hooks that were lodged in her right foot. Also thanks to resident's wife, returning from store, who spotted the swan on dry land which prompted a quick call to Cary Officers. And thanks to ABC11 News and all who showed concern about the fate of the Hooked Swan. Good timing and cooperation by all concerned. Now we need to fix the root causes for this egregious form of animal abuse. No need to rescue hooked/abused animals when the root cause is eliminated. Semper Vigilantis!

After the ABC11 Interview "Carolina Waterfowl Rescue" has reached out to us should we need future help with hooked/abused waterfowl. They have the additional resources to help with injured waterfowl. We appreciate their offering. Based in Charlotte but with local contacts. Click on this message for more info.

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Barbed Hooks removed from distressed Swan:

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ABC11 Closure Interview

!!! Alert !!!: Female Swan in Distress at Lochside Pond 4/28/2018

Female Swan is in Distress
At Lochside Pond

Barbed Hooks are Stuck in Her Right Foot

If Sighted On Land Please Call Animal Control

at 919-469-4012

They can only assist if Swan is on Land

Something wrong about uncontrolled fishing without the facilities to fix/help the injured animals/shorebirds that result from it. Fishing poles are dangerous in the hands of people that have no respect for that danger. The rule should be NO FISHING ALLOWED where there is no facilities to deal with the harmful results that follow.

Animal Control can't help unless the bird is on dry land. Good luck with that?
Otherwise it takes a team of volunteers that work together to corral the bird? Good luck with that too? 

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Closer Look at Barbed Hook

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ABC11 Interview 
Notice the camera man spotted a barbed hook with string,  on the ground, while filming the interview!

ABC   

Inhumane Goose Abuse

Recent report of Goose Abuse from Charlotte NC

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Bird Nest Destroyed 04/22/2018

Sad to report, after sitting on her nest for several weeks some mean spirited person ran Mother Goose off  her nest and removed the eggs before they could hatch. The nest is located next to a manhole cover at the edge of the Lochlomond Lake  The eggs were probably removed and thrown into the lake water. 

It has been reported that some mean spirited person living at the lake area is bent on destroying nests of the shorebirds. This is an illegal activity. If witnessed please report the culprit to the authorities: Cary Police, Animal Control. Cary is a bird sanctuary where all birds are protected from harm. It is illegal to disturb/destroy a bird's nest.

Mean spirited people include people that allow their aggressive dogs attack the shore birds which is considered Inhumane Treatment of Wildlife as the area signage indicates. If witnessed,  please "say/do something" by reporting to the above mentioned authorities. 

This is the destroyed Nest with eggs removed before hatching:

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This is what a recently Hatched Nest looks like where eggs show evidence of hatching:

Swans are the Neighborhood Pets

Swans Are Neighborhood Pets

Tip : Pause the music bar before viewing the video below

Lochside Swan Alert

Lochside Swan Alert:

After 3 weeks of nesting, the Female 

Swan at the Lochside Pond was forced 

off her nest on or about Saturday 

evening May 6, 2017. Her nest was 

emptied of 5 eggs that were strewn 

about 6 feet from her nest.

If Anyone in the neighborhood of the 

Lochside Pond has information about 

how this had happened please notify 

us at FOWLNC@bellsouth.net. 

Birds/Animals Killed/Injured By People With Fishing Poles

Birds/Animals Killed/Injured By People With Fishing Poles

Click on image

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Fishing String Time Bombs That Kill Blue Herons or Any other Flying Bird

Fishing String/Hook Time Bombs That Kill Blue Herons or Any other Flying Bird 

TimeBombs ==> String/HooksStuckInTrees

• Owl/Duck caught in FishString ==> OwlDuckFishString

Birds Lives Matter!

Please Report Fishing/Hook sightings to the responsible caretakers and also to this website. Please include pictures and locations of these time bombs. 

Bird Trap Tracker : First Reported 11-20-2015
Trap #5 reported 1-13-2016
Total Reported Bird Traps = 5
Traps removed todate =3
                          Missing traps todate = 3 as of 1/21/2016 
Remaining Traps = 2

Stay Tuned for future progress reports

Male Swan Missing : At Big Lake

Male Swan Missing At Big Lake

It is sad to report the male swan at the big lake has gone missing on/about 7/23/15. 

We are requesting anyone in the lake areas having knowledge of how this swan went missing to let us know.

These swans are huge white birds so there should be visible evidence in the lake areas of an  injured/dead swan. Dead swans will usually float in the water as one was found in the lake, near the Boat Ramp, 2 years ago.

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5Aug2015

There are strong feelings that the male swan was a victim of area foxes/coyotes. The fox/coyote population appears to be on the increase. They are the equivalent of uncontrolled free roaming dogs that are subject to contracting rabies.

Foxes/coyotes are frequently seen at all lake areas : Big Lake, Small Lake, and Lochside Pond. A kit of 4 were recently seen in the neighborhood of Lochview Drive which is very near to where the Big Lake swans reside. Which makes them vulnerable to fox /coyote attacks. Their cygnets also fall victim to these aggressive predators. There were six cygnets at the Small Lake this year that went missing in less than a week. Foxes/coyotes are frequently seen at this area and blamed for their decease.

We feel the increase in population of foxes/coyotes are not only an endangerment to area shore birds but also to area residents and their pets.

To our knowledge the foxes/coyotes are not victims of any predator greater than them. They currently are feasting on the area shore birds without the threat from larger predators. 

Therefore should be removed by human intervention; otherwise they will eventually overrun the residential neighborhoods where shore birds are their main food source. 

FoxesVsCoyotes

CoyoteControl

CoyotePhotos

It is believed that RedFoxes/Coyotes are the major killer of the shore birds and pets.  It appears they are becoming predominant in our area without any threat from bigger predators. 

It is sometimes difficult to distinquish from the two. The following links are listed to help with knowing the difference. Recent Lochmere sightings appear to be that of the Red Fox.

OtherInternetPhoto's : RedFoxVsCoyote

LochmereSightings

Local Coyote Sightings

http://abc11.com/pets/coyote-attacks-kills-dog-in-wake-county-/898989/

http://carycitizen.com/2011/02/21/coyotes-in-cary/

http://abc11.com/news/raleigh-citizens-unnerved-by-coyote-sighting-/835983/

https://screen.yahoo.com/coyote-attacks-kills-dog-wake-232436812.html

http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Trapping/Documents/CoexistingWithCoyotes.pdf

http://abc11.com/news/man-calls-911-about-aggressive-coyotes-near-nc-state/833569/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6149488/

http://www.twcnews.com/nc/triangle-sandhills/news/2015/08/3/coyote-attacks-dog.html

http://wncn.com/2015/07/31/wake-co-man-says-coyote-killed-his-family-dog/

http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/news/local/2015/07/08/raleigh-man-his-dog-and-officers-stalked-by-coyotes/29854521/

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article27960793.html

http://www.carolinahuddle.com/boards/topic/116162-coyotes-form-a-pack-outside-raleigh-nc-attack-humans/

http://abc11.com/archive/7443070/

   ----Cary LInk-----

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/coyotes/tips/against_killing_coyotes.html

http://icwdm.org/handbook/carnivor/Coyotes.asp

      ------how to control ----

http://www.wral.com/-aggressive-fox-in-raleigh-tests-positive-for-rabies/14801601/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/image/14706556/?ref_id=14801601

       ----------Grey Fox----

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/14760061/

------- Stalking --------

Blue Heron in Distress Alert

Blue Heron in Distress Reported June24

Sadly, it was spotted with a fishing Lure/String hanging from its head at Lochmere's small lake. Another casualty of careless/uncontrolled fishing at local lake areas. This bird will probably die a slow death as did the heron that was caught up in fishing string at Bond Park.

 Please report any future sightings of this injured bird. If possible call Cary Police/AnimalControl to investigate and  rescue the bird from this fatal injury. Randomly discarded fishing string is a time bomb that explodes when wildlife come in contact with it. We consider this a form of animal cruelty that is easily prevented by restricting fishing to state controlled grounds only. If it is illegal to kill/shoot/injure animals/wildlife in local residential areas then it should also be illegal to fish inside these areas. Fishing kills and injures our animals/wildlife. 

Local lake areas should be strictly used to view the beauty of nature and its wildlife. Fishing should be restricted to state controlled wildlife and fishing grounds. Uncontrolled fishing  in local/residential wetlands is deadly to animals and should be prohibited otherwise we are blindly accepting this form of animal cruelty. 

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Aug3, 2015

Blue Heron Killed by Fisherman

It is with great sadness that it has been reported, witnessed, and confirmed that this Heron was found dead from its fishing hook wounds at the Small Lake. 

How many more birds have to die before "Uncontrolled Fishing" is recognized as an "Inhumane Killer of Waterfowl" and is banned/controlled at local lakes and parks?



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Possible ways Heron gets tangled with fishing hooks/line

1 Casting line too close to Heron
2 Hooks/line caught in trees where Herons roost at night
3 Dogs chase Heron into fishing hooks/line
4 Hooks/line carelessly discarded near shoreline where Heron walks

In light of these hazardous conditions you would think caretakers of lake areas would want to prevent harm to wildlife by ridding the lake areas of  harmful fishing debris by using regulatory signage and by policing the lake areas by lake management personnel. So far caretakers have yet to take responsible actions to protect wildlife in local/city lake areas. Until they do, this shameful death/harm to wildlife caused by unregulated fishing is on them.
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Goose Nest Destroyed at Lochmere Small Lake

Goose Nest Destroyed at Lochmere Small Lake

Bird nest was obliterated during Apr. 9 or Apr. 10

Nest was located on the small island a few feet from shoreline which should have protected it from lake walkers/wDogs. However, someone with a long instrument could maliciously access the nest.

Nest was probably swept into the lake.

If witnessed, Please report illegal/malicious nest tampering of these shore birds.
The nest had eggs and was being cared for by mother goose.

click==> Before and After

Contrast this act of cruelty with:
click--> Mother goose lays eggs in Raleigh church playground

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Goose Killed at Lochmere Small Lake

Goose Killed at Lochmere Small Lake

April 1 2015

click...Goose Killed

It is sad to report the killing of this goose. In the video it appears that its family is in mourning.The goose was probably killed sometime between 5pm March 31 and April 1 AM.

Possible causes are:

1 SwampBoat testing the Lake Mar31 pm

The timing for this lake testing was not good. Shore birds have started their nesting.

This could have waited until Sept when birds would have migrated.

2 Unruly After Sunset Trespassers/wDog

Trespassers/wDog were spotted at the Lake on Mar31pm

This needs to cease.

3 Meanspirited person with pellet gun/other

This possibility should be reported to and investigated by NC State Wildlife. These birds are protected by state law. 

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Nesting Wildlife Endangerment Alert

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*!Wildlife Endangerment Alert!

Please Beware of Yard Workers with Loud Blowers/Mowers working around lake areas where shore birds are nesting!

If shore birds are nesting in your yard please advise yard workers to not disturb these nesting birds. 

You may want to delay your yard work until  after bird eggs are hatched. 

This would be the humane thing to do. .

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Comparing Rules of Conduct at State VS Local/City Lake Parks

Lake Areas Compared	Private or Public	No Trespassing After Sunset	Fishing	Fish Permit Required	Fishing String Disposal	Visitor Path	Pets	Rules Of Conduct	Shore Bird Protection	Conclusion	Comments
State Parks	Public	Enforced	Restricted Areas	License	Yes	Restricted Areas Only	Six Foot Leash and Keep Pets Away From Shore Birds	Published on Web + Signs	Best	Shore Birds Protected
Apex Lake Pine	Public	Enforced	Controlled by Permit	Permit for All and yearly renewal	Yes/ Specific for Fish Line	Yes/ Wide Path	Yes/ Long Leashes But Path is Away From Shore Bird Habitat	Published on Web + Signs	Good	Shore Birds Protected By Fishing Control and Fish Line Disposal
Raleigh Pullen Park	Public	Enforced	Not Controlled	No	Nothing Specific	Yes	Six Foot Leash and Must Keep Pets Away From Shore Birds	Signs Only - No Web Rules Published	Average	Shore Birds Protected by Dog Control
Cary Lake Parks	Public	Enforced	Not Controlled	No	Nothing Specific	Yes	Yes/ Long Leashes	Signs Only - No Web Rules Published	None - Enables Animal Cruelty	Shore Birds Not Protected	Worst Shore Bird Protection By Lack of Controls Enabling Animal Cruelty
Lochmere "Small Lake Path" Loch Lomond	Private But Not Enforced	Yes But Not Enforced	Not Controlled	No	Nothing Specific	Path is Extremely Narrow and Very Close to Shore Bird Habitat	Yes/ Long Leashes Allowing Dogs to Attack Risking Injury to Nearby Shore Birds	Signs Only - No Web Rules Published	None - Enables Animal Cruelty	Shore Birds Not Protected	Worst Shore Bird Protection By Lack of Controls Enabling Animal Cruelty

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 It is nesting season at the Lake areas. This is when birds are most vulnerable to abuse. Shore birds will need your protection and help. If you see Dogs/UnsupervisedKids attacking shore birds, Say/Do something.

 Please report/email/call witnessed cruelty to LochmereHOA/Police/AnimalControl and also to us FOWLNC@bellsouth.net  . Tell them you don't want your HOA/Tax dollars blindly supporting/enabling Animal Cruelty. And that you want "State Park Rules of Conduct" imposed/enforced at these LocalLakes and ShoreBird habitats. Reference this Website to support these claims.

 Last nesting season at Lochmere Small Lake it was reported that Bird nests were destroyed, Injured birds with broken wings, and Dead birds floating in the Lake. Thanks to "lack of simple low cost controls" that could have prevented these senseless acts of Animal Cruelty. 

Here are some simple property and life saving controls for starters:

1 Enforce No Trespassing AfterSunset
2 Setup Receptacles and Signage for Fishing String/Waste
3 Enforce No Illegal  Fishing/Boaters by Trespassers
 ie. eliminates harmful trash from illegal fishing
... anyone off the street with a fishing pole/boat can enter lake areas. This needs to cease.
4 Six foot leashes at Lake Areas
5 Keep dogs away from shore birds
6 Display "The Loch Lomond Sign Rules" at all Lake Areas including Boat Ramp and Lochside Pond Area that are exposed to unruly activities before and after sunset.

When building manmade wetlands careful consideration should be given to wildlife protections such as: Fishing control, Dog Control, and sufficient buffer between shore birds and public activity. 

Lake caretakers at a minimum should implement 1) fishing string disposals/signage, 2) Six foot limit for dog leashes/signage, 4) Keep Pets Away From Shore Birds/signage 3) Closed after sunset/signage

If these simple humane actions are implemented, it would deter most of the harm/abuse that shore birds are subjected to.

Caretakers that care are expected to implement these safeguards.

Caretakers that don't care should call the SPCA and turn themselves in.

Nothing gets done/fixed unless responsible people take responsible actions.  

 If Lochmere Small Lake "Loch Lomond" was a State controlled park it would be restricted to WALKERS ONLY : NO PETS ALLOWED. The path is extremely narrow and too close to the shore bird habitat which doesn't allow for safe pet activities. Two people can barely pass. Add to this trespassers, fishing, baby strollers, joggers/wDogs, unruly people on bikes, skateboards, skooters, and Dogs with long leashes: a recipe for disaster.

Sign At Small Lake : These are good rules for ruly people. However, sadly these rules are not enforced/controlled. So unruly people show their disrespect by easily hijacking the area with impunity because there is no active monitoring. When no one is watching the store, the store gets robbed. The sign clearly shows "Closed after sunset". Yet it is rampant with with unruly activity after sunset: Trespassers, Fishing, Joggers/wDogs, Dog Walkers, Walkers etc.. At a time when shore birds are roosting/nesting and a time when area homes want privacy. This creates an unsafe atmosphere not only for shore birds but for area homes. Residents don't want strangers hanging around their property, especially after sunset. This is when nesting shore birds are extremely vulnerable to harm by unruly after sunset lake users.
Nesting birds will be easily spooked and nests destroyed by these illegal activities occurring after sunset when the "Lake Path is Closed". Thereby contributing to inhumane treatment of wildlife. Responsible residents should report witnessed after sunset lake users to the Lochmere HOA and the Cary Police. The sign says "Enforced by Cary Police"? The police will only act if you do. 

Don't let your HOA/Tax dollars blindly contribute to enabling the mistreatment of Lochmere property and inhumane treatment of the WildLife. If unruly people are allowed to hijack the area then inhumane treatment of wildlife will prevail. Don't let that happen; otherwise we are blindly endorsing unruly behavior and inhumane treatment of wildlife. 



Words to live by : IF YOU DON'T LIKE WATERBIRDS DON'T LIVE OR GO NEAR THE WATER. YOU WON'T BE MISSED.

Dog Attacking Bird Family

WaterFowl Cruelty

Tip : Pause the music bar before viewing the video below

Goose Family in Distress at Small Lake

This is what happens when dogs are allowed to roam free  at water bird habitats. A practice that is prohibitive at State Parks. There are several shore birds at the Lochmere/Cary Lake areas that are/were severely/fatally injured by these kinds of unconscious/insensitive actions. These birds will defend their family against all threats and often end up with broken wings.
Which incapacitates their flying ability and exposes them to further harm. Lochmere and the Town of Cary need to comply with State Park Visitor Rules of Conduct.  Shore birds should be protected from harm at Local Cary/HOA lakes and parks as they are at State Parks. 

When viewing the video, notice that there is not much buffer from shore line to walking path. Which means even dogs with short leashes will have easy access to nesting shore birds.

Cat Killed by Leashed Dogs

Lochside/BigLake/SmallLake Swan Report

!!!!!!!!MISSING!!!!!!!!

Female Swan Is Missing From Lochside Pond.

Swan went missing between 3pm and 5:30pm on Wednesday Feb 18.

Please report if you have information as to why/how this swan went missing.

Perhaps you were driving/walking by the pond at this time and saw something?

Any help will be appreciated.

FOWLNC@bellsouth.net 
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Reported Swan Sightings:
Thanks to all who responded with
warm felt news of 2 sightings of the missing swan.

Report One:

Lone Swan was sighted at the Big Lake near Lochside drive.

Report Two:

"Most Encouraging/Revealing"
Lone Swan was sighted at the Lower Pond between Lochside and Wood Lily on the day it went missing. It is believed the swan had walked from the Upper Pond to the Lower Pond and then to the Big Lake on the day that it went missing.

Question is Why?
This female swan has never before left her mate in the many years that they were together?
The mate still remains at the upper pond awaiting her return. We think that he did not follow her because he is protecting his turf from being taken by others.

Many thanks to those who expressed concerns and best wishes for the female swan and her mate.

Sunday AM Feb 22:
Male swan has left the Lochside Pond to meet up with his female partner on the Big Lake?

There was an extra pair of swans spotted across the Big Lake
from Lochside Drive. It is believed to be the same pair from Lochside Pond. Because the usual pair were spotted at the same time near Lochmere Drive. So we now have two pair of swans at the Big Lake and none at Lochside Pond? If anyone gets a closer look the male swan has a "Chipped Beak" caused by fishing hooks in the summer of 2008.

Feb 24 Pm
The Lochside swans were sighted near the Cary Parkway end of the Big Lake. They probably will return to the Lochside Pond when the weather warms up. The icy pond probably wasn't giving them the freedom to mate. They usually go thru a mating ritual about this time of year and start building their nest during the month of March in time to lay eggs at the end of March and then hatching cygnets by the end of April. Sadly the cygnets will not make it thru the month of May due to predators and such. Two summers ago we almost had one, that was four months old, make it thru the summer; but it got sick and died from ingesting lead fishing pellets. She was taken to an animal hospital by Cary Animal Control, where her blood was tested and found to have high levels of lead content. They have yet to have a successful cygnet since they've been together.
Interesting to note is, ie. last summer, of the 3 pair of swans at Lochmere lakes/pond and a total of 15 hatched cygnets - none survived the summer. Here's wishing them better luck this year.

"Stay tuned for continued coverage"

Feb25
Both sighted at Big Lake near Lower Pond

Feb26
Male decided to reside at Lower Pond between Lochside and Wood Lily. Assume female is at Big Lake.

Feb27
Male at Lower Pond and assume female at Big Lake

Feb 28
Male at Lower Pond and female is spotted at Big Lake near Lower Pond. Which one will yield and meet up with the other?

Mar1
Male has worked his way back to Upper Pond. Assume female is still at the Big Lake.

Mar2
Male is back at Upper Pond. Female was spotted at Cary Parkway end of Big Lake

Mar3
Welcome Back
Back together again at upper pond





Mar16

Let's Build a Nest!
Nest Building Has Started

Mar29

Sunday AM
Sad to report the swans were run off their nest by yard workers with loud leaf blowers and mowers. 

As of 7:30pm they have yet to return to the nest.


Mar30

After working two+ weeks on a nest blown away by yard workers. The swans have started a 2nd nest away from the 1st.
The 2nd nest may not be available in time for egg laying.
It takes timing to build a robust nest in time for egg laying.
Hopefully the new nest is sufficient.

May10

Sad to report Lochside Swan's will not be hosting any cygnets this year due to nest destruction by area landscapers.
A second nest was attempted but was unsuccessful. The female finally gave up on the second nest. 

Another pair of swans at Lochmere's small lake started out with six cygnets about a week ago. However, all six were picked off by area predators/other. All six gone within a period of one week? The last three went missing in one day.

"Stay tuned for continued converage" 

June24

A Blue Heron with a fishing lure/string hanging from its head was observed at the small lake about a week ago.