NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A keen observation by a trained bird expert led to a 23-mile, three-borough odyssey that saved the life of a sickly swan last week.
Ariel Cordova-Rojas spent five years as a manager at the Wild Bird Fund rehab center in Manhattan. She knows a sick bird when she sees one.
So when she spotted the swan at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens on Thursday, she knew what to do. She scooped up the swan and started walking a mile back to where she had left her bicycle, according to a report in the New York Times.
A couple then offered her a ride, so Cordova-Rojas hopped in with the swan.
They drove to the Howard Beach subway station, where Cordova-Rojas and the bird got on an A train to the Nostrand Avenue station in Brooklyn.
Two car rides after that, they were at the Wild Bird Fund on the Upper West Side, where the swan is being treated. The animal will be reassessed in a few weeks.
Staff members at the Wild Bird Fund believe the swan may have ingested finishing weights, which can cause lead poisoning.
Cordova-Rojas, who turned 30 the next day, said the journey was “the perfect culmination of my 20s” and “the perfect birthday present to be in nature and be able to save a life.”