VIDEO: Rescued loon released into St. Marys River

Albert Errington and his wife noticed a large bird in what appeared to distress out side their Batchawana home.

Upon closer inspection, the bird was identified as a loon that had been grounded on a patch of thick ice. 

Errington's daughter, Morgan, in her final year of veterinary school explained, "loons feet are placed further back on the body than other water birds like ducks. This means that they require a short runway of water in order to take flight."

She compared it to the way float planes take off from the water.

"They can't actually walk on land," she said. Left on that sheet of ice, the raptor would have died if left alone. 

Errington managed to get the bird indoors, where he had filled a bathtub to accommodate it.

After many phone calls with different wildlife agencies, Errington was told the best course of action was to find some open water to release the animal.

Equipped with a towel and some safety glasses (apparently, loons go for the eyes when threatened) Albert and his daughter released the bird into the St. Marys River, where it quickly evaded our cameras.