Surfer rescues drowning pigeon at Florida beach

May 29 (UPI) -- A compassionate surfer at a Florida beach was caught on camera rescuing a drowning pigeon and bringing it back to dry land.

Nicole Fulwiler, who was visiting the beach in Venice with her children on Sunday, captured cellphone footage of the surfer paddling up to the drowning bird and allowing it to climb up on the front of his surfboard.

The man then paddled his board to shore and helped the pigeon find a safe spot to rest and dry off.

Fulwiler said the beach was beset by harsh waves from a subtropical storm.

"It looked like it just got hit by a wave and couldn't get back out," she told WFTS-TV. "We didn't think it was going to be a good outcome for the bird."

Fulwiler applauded the surfer's kindness.

"How often do we see somebody go out of their way for pigeon?" she said. "You know there's so many of them, but to that pigeon it mattered."

She said her children learned a valuable lesson from witnessing the rescue.

"Look for kindness in the world," she said. "There are people who will go out of their way for a lowly pigeon."