Fire Department rescues bird stuck in a palm tree

Consider this the Southern California version of a cat-in-a-tree rescue.

About 300 people gathered at the Newport Pier on Sunday to watch firefighters remove a seagull from a palm tree after it got caught in string, said Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz.

Firefighters were called to the pier about 6:26 p.m. after the seagull was seen dangling from its feet about 20 feet above the ground, according to a Fire Department news release.

“[The onlookers] were very concerned for the bird’s safety,” said Capt. Ty Lunde, who was at the scene.

The bird was trapped in the 2100 block of West Ocean Front in what appeared to be kite string, according to Lunde.

“It was flapping, and each time it flapped it wound itself tighter and tighter,” he said.

The bird was untangled and released toward the beach, Lunde said. The bird was unharmed and able to flap its wings, but didn’t fly away.

—Lauren Williams, Twitter @lawilliams30