Alliston resident Alena Brown was on her way to Richmond Hill Friday afternoon when she decided to make a pit stop in Bradford to see if she could help a distressed seagull in the McDonald's parking lot.
Earlier that day, someone had posted on social media that a seagull with a scrunchie stuck around its neck was walking around the McDonald's parking lot, asking if anyone could come help.
As soon as she saw the post, Bradford resident Mireli Cotry sent it to a few animal lovers she knew, including Brown, to see if they would be able to assist. The bird was unable to fly with the scrunchie stuck around its neck.
Right away, animal rescuer and Bradford resident Carolyn Penrose and friend Laura Martin met at the McDonald's parking lot to see if they could capture the bird with some bread and a towel.
"I went with bread and a towel, hoping to coax it with bread, because we all know they are food motivated," said Penrose. "If it got close enough, if we were unable to grab her, we were going to throw a towel on her," explained Penrose.
"But she was elusive," described Penrose. After four hours, the bird was still not taking the bait.
That's when Brown arrived and was able to spot and capture the seagull.
"It only took me 20 minutes luckily," said Brown. "I went to the McDonald's drive thru, bought a large fries, and parked my car."
Brown then began tossing the fries out her window which caught the attention of many seagulls.
"I kept trying to get [the] bird in need closer but it was fairly hesitant naturally," described Brown.
With a little luck, the bird started getting closer and Brown was able to grab it, fold its wings and calm it down before removing the scrunchie and setting it free.
The ladies were all relieved that the seagull had been saved.
Brown confirmed the distressed seagull was female due to its spotted feathers. Male feathers are usually solid grey and white.
"And of course, she was wearing a scrunchie," joked Penrose.
This wasn't the first rescue for Brown. Last month, she rescued an injured raven (Carlos), two baby robins and a sparrow. Carlos had even stayed with Brown for about a week before driving him to Shades of Hope wildlife refuge in Pefferlaw.
"It seems as though bird rescue is my typical Friday," Brown laughed, noting her past few rescues have all occurred on her off day.
"Birds seem to gravitate to me for some reason," she said. "I love all animals, so I'm just happy to help."