Two chicks born in June barely squawked when gloved hands plopped a blue blanket over them to keep them calm.
"It was just a piece of cake," said the rescuer, Jim MacDougal, 56, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who volunteers at Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays. "They just hunkered down. It was great to see they were actually OK."
StoryGet a bird's-eye view of osprey familyPhotosBaby animals
He and PSEG Long Island were called after one of the chicks got its right leg mired Wednesday in fishing line used by its parents to feather the nest. It sparked angst among a legion of fans who have been addicted to ospreyzone -- a high-definition peek at a twiggy household.
The line chained the chick to half the nest, but the bird could be seen eating and otherwise doing well.
"We don't know how it happened," said Paul Henry, owner of Tax Reduction Services in Greenport, which hosts ospreyzone. "One of the problems is the birds, as long as we've been watching, keep bringing up debris from windshield wipers, fish nets, plastic bags."
The parent ospreys have been constantly cleaning and redecorating their nest as winds blow away twigs and family living messes http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/ up the crib.
Just before 6 p.m., they got some help when a lift carried MacDougal, a PSEG photographer and a worried lineman up the tower.
The sight of the intruders caused the parents to http://www.homes.com/ fly away, but they weren't gone for long.
"They were divebombing us," MacDougal said.
The lineman used a metal pole to keep them at bay. The snip-and-pull operation took about 10 minutes. MacDougal pulled red twine off one chick, then used scissors to cut the line from its sibling's leg.
MacDougal massaged the chick's leg and patted both birds down.
"I wanted to make sure there was nothing broken before I said goodbye," he said.
From the ground, relieved onlookers clapped. "It was a triumphant success and an invigorating moment for everybody," Henry said.
Henry also had MacDougal clean the lens of the Internet camera of dirt and a noticeable spot of poop. He wants the viewing to be crystal clear because the chicks are going to start learning to fly soon.
He wants to document the ospreys, once a species on the brink of disappearing after the pesticide DDT damaged and softened egg shells, decimating the birthrate.
The private camera system, bolted over a man-made platform, has gone from jagged and limited last July to high-definition June 1.
About 10,000 viewers check in daily, from retirement homes, schools and other countries, the site's hosts said.
"Everybody's really getting hooked http://www.bestlongislandhomeinspection.wordpress.com
