Went swimming today and saved a bird caught in a net.

Fishing nets are not just traps for fish, especially those close to shore. These nets are not big, about thirty metres in diameter. They are dangerous. An off-the-rocks rod-fisherman recounted to me once how a swimmer drowned getting caught in a net like these.

Down for my morning swim, starting as usual from some rocks, a groyne, a small set of boulders off Cannes, where I usually head off from, looking out I saw fishermen had placed one of those nets.

Something was flapping, birds circling above. I thought: they are waiting for the flapping thing to die. When it flapped again, a wing went vertical. I saw it was a small bird, my first impression at first glance, its head seeming to be down in the sea. When it managed to bring its head up, I knew it was very badly stuck.

I swam out to get a closer look, being careful not to get too close to the transparent closely-woven plastic netting. I saw the bird was not small. It was a Cormorant, and it started flapping more the closer I got. When I swim, I go across towards another set of rocks and come back and that’s me done for the day. And usually I stay well away from nets. Today though I couldn’t just leave this bird in this state.

It was completely entangled from its beak all the way down. Treading water I began trying to disentangle it. With the Med colder in late winter temperature coming spring it would not be long before I got really cold doing this, which could lead me to do something silly, like get myself pecked by the bird. I felt sure given the chance it might use its powerful beak on me.

I needed to organise this. I swam to shore where a cafe-bar sat on the sands. I asked if I could borrow some scissors. The guy immediately went and got a pair. Swimming out again I saw another swimmer was in the bay so I enlisted his help and we swam together to help the stricken bird. First up, I got my toes caught up and then the scissors entangled. So it wasn’t a great start.

The other guy used the scissors better than me, so while I held the lines, eventually we freed the bird from the overall net. But the Cormorant was still not free from all the netting. It was well and truly entangled. So we swam it towards shore disentangling as we swam and avoiding beak attacks.

On to the beach, I held the bird up. He cut more. Two women approached and showing more understanding than either of us could muster, they got control of the bird by first gently grabbing its neck. The other woman held onto its body. I thought to myself: women are more practical.

We got the netting off and the bird flew into the sea without a backward glance. I gave back the scissors and went on swimming.

I didn’t last long. I was really cold by now. I cut it all short. I didn’t want to get cramped up. It made me realise that if you were unlucky enough to be trapped out in the sea for some reason getting cold, couldn’t keep moving, you would soon get hypothermia.

This is an all’s well that ended well story. I’m glad I didn’t swim on by. I have seen Cormorants from the rocks swimming at breakneck speed underwater chasing fish coming up to stare warily at me, the human. I hope if and when this one comes back one day it’ll nod in recognition of the moment we shared.