After the gales of yesterday, it was remarkably calm today. We even had some blue skies for a while, though mixed inevitably with some grey.
Down at water level, the pond was like glass.
That's one side of the pond. The other story of today has a positive ending, but so nearly didn't.
I noticed some rapid splashing near the island in the centre of the pond. The source was a juvenile herring gull.
The pattern of movement was odd, so I looked more carefully. 
It's a little tricky to see at this size so I've added a couple of pointers to the shot. The gulls wings were entangled with what seems to be fine fishing line. I've never seen anyone fishing here (though that doesn't mean that no-one does), so I wonder whether the line comes from somewhere else, perhaps already caught around the gull and then snagging on the tree.
I was on the verge of phoning for help when the gull managed to free itself. A tough young bird that was fortunate, but that's all too often not the outcome.
Luckily no harm on this occasion, but it's a reminder that our discarded waste can be a real threat to wildlife.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
gdare
24 Nov 2012We often find fishing lines on the banks of lakes here and we always take them out to a garbage :irked:
derWandersmann
24 Nov 2012I love the duck in the circular ripples!
How deep is that pond, Words? It would have been my immediate impulse to wade out there and either help the gull, or get rid of the monofilament line …I know it's probably against the rules to do it without a special gull-rescuing permit, but I'd have probably tried it, anyway.
Those monofilaments are doubly dangerous, both in that they're so strong, and that they're nearly invisible.
Words
25 Nov 2012Darko, it's really frustrating to see how much rubbish is just left in the countryside, and especially so when it's left by people who actually use the countryside a lot.
Words
25 Nov 2012dW, it's probably possible to wade, though tricky when I'm in work clothes! We've a local wildlife rescue centre who could have come out if it hadn't got free. They're only 10 minutes away from here.
derWandersmann
26 Nov 2012Well, I'll agree that 10 minutes isn't bad … if one has one of those portable phones that people seem so addicted to, nowadays. I don't have one, but that's my choice, and I don't mind being sneered at (or whatever) because of it.
On the other hand, as they say in the USA (or some parts of it), "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."
serola
26 Nov 2012Damn those fishing lines :furious:
Words
27 Nov 2012dW, I carry a phone. Rarely use it, but came very close on this occasion.
Words
27 Nov 2012sami, agreed 🙁