St. Vrain State Park officials found one of the park’s young ospreys hanging dead from a nesting platform after it apparently swallowed “several feet of fishing line and hooks” on Friday.
The bird likely swallowed the line when trying to eat a fish, according to a . The materials got caught in osprey nesting platform materials, keeping the bird from getting back to its nest or to the ground, the post states.
Officials with the park blamed visitors for leaving behind fishing line and other materials. The park also stated that other birds and animals — such as geese, herons, pelicans and turtles — have died this year after swallowing fishing hooks.
“Somebody’s actions killed this bird, and other folks leaving their lines, litter, and illegal chum are causing more animals to get injured or die,” the post states. “You don’t have to take part in the killing if you simply Leave No Trace.”
According to the post, the bird likely got hold of the fish while it was hooked on an unattended line in the park.
Last month, a pelican at Golden Ponds in Longmont was observed to be entangled in fishing line and bound to a tree branch. It freed itself from the branch, but because a hook had damaged an artery and rendered the pelican flightless, the bird had to be euthanized.
