Graham Porter has been hailed a “hero” for coming to the aid of the injured greylag goose as heavy traffic sped past on the A14 near Godmanchester, Huntingdon.
As trustee of nearby charity The Waterfowl Sanctuary, Graham had received a couple of calls from concerned members of the public reporting the bird on April 1, and headed out to locate it.
Using dashcam footage and a head cam to capture the moment, his video of the rescue has attracted thousands of shares and hundreds of comments on Facebook.
“This incredible goose had spent at least four hours by the edge of the A14 near Godmanchester - inches from the 70mph rush hour traffic,” he said. “It was clearly stunned and not moving.
“I didn't see her after the first call I received and assumed she had flown off, or worse. Later that morning another call came in with a more precise location so I went out again.”
Graham said spotting her was a “wow” moment as he realised she was still alive. But unable to pull over safely close to the bird, Graham had around a mile walk alongside the road barrier to find her – wearing his high-vis jacket and carrying his net.
There was a nail-biting moment as Graham had just a short window of opportunity to net the bird and get her off the road before a lorry whizzed past.
“She looked awful,” he recalls. “So frightened and hurt but I could feel all her limbs moving against my body whilst I held her.
“I suspect she flew into the barrier and knocked herself out. She has several small cuts, most notably on the top of her head which is where the blood came from. The inflammation has lifted her eyelids making her eyes too low down to see out of them which presumably is why she sat motionless for so long.”
Back at the sanctuary, Graham gave her some pain relief and anti-inflammatories, and her wounds were slowly washed with warm water.
"The down on her head wound was trimmed so that it could be properly dressed,” he explained. “Her wing and leg also had small wounds but nothing structural - which confirms the view that her impact was with the barrier and not a vehicle.
“I'm calling her Frogger - for those of you that remember the classic arcade game. A remarkable goose. Adrenalin was running through both of us that day!”
Among the hundreds of comments on his post, was one that simply said: “What a hero. Literally risking his own life on that road.” Another added: “This is one very lucky to be alive goose. Thank you for rescuing her, getting her back to safety and for patching her up for recovery. You are a saint.”
To support the work of The Waterfowl Sanctuary, or to donate towards the goose’s care, visit their website.
5. A Tense Moment
The moment Graham got the bird out of the net and safely into his jacket Photo: The Waterfowl Sanctuary
6. Cleaning
Graham carefully cleans the bird's wounds back at the sanctuary Photo: The Waterfowl Sanctuary
8. Rest and Recuperate
The bird gets to rest in the safety of the sanctuary after its wounds are cleaned and treated Photo: The Waterfowl Sanctuary