Furious flapping alerted Judith Dearborne to the presence of a large, gray, funny looking bird high in a neighbor's oak tree Tuesday evening.
At first, Dearborne thought the bird's wing was broken by the way it extended above its head. But in the daylight Wednesday, she could clearly see a line that stretched from its wing to a pine tree and the top of another oak.
Somehow, that strange looking bird with its red eyes, long pointed beak and white tassel atop its head had gotten tangled in what appeared to be kite string.
"It's a mysterious bird from somewhere," said Dearborne. "It really was a one-in-a-million chance for him to get tangled like that."
Dearborne called the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the power company to see if it could provide a bucket that would reach 30 feet in the air to the bird. NV Energy agreed to help.
By happenstance, power company troubleman Mike Falanga was the one dispatched to Dearborne's Marvin Drive home about 10:50 a.m.
A birdwatcher since he was a boy, Falanga wished he had a copy of his National Audubon Society bird book. He thought the bird looked like a heron but couldn't be sure " it was high in the tree, obscured by leaves.
Game Warden Reid Varble also was unsure.
Falanga extended a pole toward the bird. It panicked and let out a loud call.
Falanga said it sounded like a cluck. Neighbor Jerry Bradley said it sounded like a quack. Dearborne thought it was similar to a goose honk.
The noise added to the mystery.
With a steady hand, Falanga snagged one side of the string and twisted until it broke. Then he effortlessly snagged the other side and twisted again. The bird was free.
But it didn't budge. The onlookers tried to coax the bird from the tree with whistles and pleadings. Dearborne hoped that if it were injured Varble could capture it and nurse it to health.
Falanga extended the pole again and the bird half-jumped, half-flew further into the oak tree.
Varble, in the meantime, was on the phone with NDOW biologist Larry Neal. With Varble's description " especially that floppy tassel atop the bird's head that caused the onlookers to coo " Neal was able to identify the bird as a black crowned night heron.
Prone to marshland, and known to roost in trees, it may have come from the river or the golf course nearby, the group surmised.
Thinking it best to leave the creature alone, they began to disperse about 11:20 a.m.
Dearborne had done her part worrying all night and morning about that bird. She seemed glad to pass off the responsibility to her neighbor.
"OK, Jerry," she said, clapping him on his back. "You're on heron duty for the rest of the night."
By 4 p.m. the bird was gone.