PHOTOS: Stuck duck successfully rescued in Harrison

Published 5:21 pm Monday, October 20, 2025

By Adam Louis

Volunteers and wildlife rescuers were able to free a young duck from plastic netting and release it unharmed back into Harrison Lake lagoon.
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Volunteers and wildlife rescuers were able to free a young duck from plastic netting and release it unharmed back into Harrison Lake lagoon.
Volunteers and wildlife rescuers were able to free a young duck from plastic netting and release it unharmed back into Harrison Lake lagoon.
A pie-billed grebe is caught in plastic netting as local rescuers tried to save in Harrison Hot Springs.
Two kayakers attempt to herd a pie-billed grebe trapped in plastic mesh to shore of Harrison Lake lagoon in hopes of freeing it.
Wildlife rescuers examine the wing of a pie-billed grebe before releasing it back into Harrison Lake lagoon this past Saturday (Oct. 18).
The young pie-billed grebe caught in a plastic net is now freed.
This young pie-billed grebe is recovering from being caught in plastic netting late last week. Volunteers captured the bird, cut it free from netting and released it back into the wild.

A young duck has a new lease on life thanks to volunteers and rescue workers in Harrison Hot Springs.

Early last week, Miami River Streamkeepers Society member Janne Perrin spotted a duck – a juvenile pie-billed grebe – tangled up in plastic mesh in the Harrison Lake lagoon. 

Rescue efforts began last Friday (Oct. 17) morning when a pair of kayakers and a total of seven people tried to rescue the bird, hoping to herd it toward the shore. Perrin said rehabbers discouraged the rescuers from cutting the bird free of the netting as that would be a task better suited for professionals and to avoid any further injury to the duck.

They would redouble their efforts the following morning. Several others volunteered to help via social media as Perrin posted updates on the situation. She contacted the Wildlife Rescue Association based in Burnaby. On Saturday, it took four kayaks, volunteers and representatives from two wildlife rescue organizations to capture the duck, remove the netting, check for injuries and release it back into the wild. 

The plastic netting that snared the duck was believed to be underlay from grass sod. The rescued duck was believed to have been spotted later that weekend.

Perrin reminded the public that all forms of plastic can be a hazard for wildlife, including plastic bottles or bags, and to dispose of them in their proper containers. 

The pie-billed grebe can mostly be seen throughout southern B.C.; they are reasonably common among the marshes and ponds of Agassiz-Harrison. They use their thick, short bills to kill and eat crustaceans, fish, amphibians and bugs.

These ducks are not currently of conservation concern in B.C., considered as a stable population over the long term, according to information from Environment Canada. The pie-billed grebe can migrate as far south as the Caribbean Sea or South America in the winter, particularly settling in the coastal regions. 

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