Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Wild Goose Shatters Patrol Car's Windshield
-Bird survives crash and is recovering at Wildlife Center
by RUTH LIAO Statesman Journal March 11, 2008

Salem police Officer Jeff Keniston was headed to assist another officer on State Street late Friday night when it came out of nowhere.
"I didn't even see it. There was just a loud thud and the windshield just shattered," Keniston said.
Keniston thought he had hit a pedestrian at 50 mph — a crater of cracked glass covered the passenger side of his patrol car.
But when Keniston swerved to a stop, he saw a bystander crouched on the side of the road — with a dazed goose in her arms.
The wild goose had hit the windshield, flown up into the air and landed next to the bystander, said Keniston.
The goose was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, and then to Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center in South Salem. Wildlife rehabilitator Mary Bliss said the goose initially refused to eat but then began feeding after 12 hours.
On Monday, Bliss judged that the goose was well enough to try out a pond on their South Salem property, so she let him out of their enclosure.
Bliss said the bird was a Western Canada goose, which stays in the area year-long and is bigger than a migratory goose. She speculated the bird was a gander, because it weighed about 11 pounds and had a wingspan of about one yard.
Bliss said their rehabilitation center often cares for injured birds that hit windshields or utility lines, particularly owls or crows.
Keniston said the goose incident was a first for him after 10 years in law enforcement.
"Occasionally, you hit the night rodent or the possum, but I've never experienced anything like this before."

Please visit the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center's website to learn more about what they do and how you can help.


http://www.turtleridgewildlifecenter.org/index.html
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