By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

What began as a fairly routine traffic stop last week became a challenging brush with nature for Scarborough Police Officer Andrew Flynn.

When he responded to a backup call around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 7 near Anjon’s Restaurant on Route 1, events took a turn for the unexpected.

As he and fellow officer Garrett Strout detained the stopped driver, Flynn spotted something out of the corner of his eye. 

It wasn’t the suspect reaching for a gun, but rather a large bird that had waddled into the center of the road into oncoming traffic.

With cars racing past at nearly 50 miles per hour and already beginning to swerve, Flynn said he needed to think fast.

 “At first I tried shooing it with my hand, but the duck just twisted its neck and began to nip and bite my hand and leg,” he said.

Meanwhile Officer Strout continued questioning the suspect, a felon convicted of threatening with a dangerous weapon and burglary.

Flynn realized he needed to help the other officer as soon as possible, so he quickly reached down and grabbed the bird by its wing to return it to the marsh area along the road. 

“I had to weigh human life over the bird, and with the situation that was unfolding I did what I needed to do to make the situation safe for everybody,” he said.

At the same time, Linda Woodard, director of the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, happened to be driving her car northbound on Route 1 and witnessed Flynn holding the distressed bird. 

As Woodard scrambled from her car and retrieved the bird, Flynn breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I’m so glad you’re here.” 

Although Woodard, a certified medical animal technologist, was able to secure the bird in a basket and transport it to the York Center for Wildlife, it died en route from an unconfirmed illness. 

The bird, later identified as a cormorant, is fairly common in the Scarborough marsh area, Woodard said. 

Karen McLemery, director at the Center for Wildlife in York, said it’s not the first cormorant that has been brought to the center this year and said she has seen two to three others die as well.

 “Sometimes changes in the environment can cause illness in animals. Something like red tide can cause severe neurological issues,” said McLemery.

The cormorant Woodard brought in, like others before it, will either be transported to the University of New Hampshire or Tufts University in Boston for an autopsy to determine its cause of death. 

McLemery said it is not unusual for young cormorants to stray this time of year. 

“The fall is a tricky time of year. Many young birds are away from their parents, who are no longer supplying food, and are learning to catch meals on their own. Many of them are not as savvy at finding food, so they are known to wander,” McLemery said.

If an injured animal is found, Woodard said it is important to keep both animals and people away and call the center. 

“These birds are scared and will try to defend themselves. Bigger birds will actually go for the eyes, so it is really important for people to protect themselves,” Woodard said.

McLemery agreed and said the cormorant is a dangerous and risky bird to pick up.     

“Normally you would need a towel to help protect yourself, because your fingers could be sliced open from the beak. I imagine the officer probably thought it was safest to grab the bird by the wing because it’s the farthest point from the beak, and I really don’t see anything wrong with what he did given the circumstances,” McLemery said.

McLemery said officers often will simply not do anything for animals and that she “gives kudos to the Scarborough Police Department for getting involved at all.” 

Flynn said his biggest concern was that the public understand he did the best he could given the circumstances.
  “I knew something was wrong, either it was injured or sick, and I just tried to do the best I could to get the bird safely out of the road,” Flynn said.

Woodard agreed and said Flynn was very sympathetic working with her and concerned for the bird’s safety as well as the safety of those around him. 

In light of the situation, Woodard and McLemery will conduct a class during the officers’ 40-hour training block this year, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 20, for officers to learn proper procedures when they encounter injured wildlife.

As for the arrest? 

“Everything went smoothly,” Flynn said.