Injured peregrine reunion 'brought tears to eyes'

Peregrine falcon sitting on a branch in an aviary

Image caption,

The falcon needed a large aviary to be able to practice flying

ByJohn PakeyEast Midlands

Published1 minute ago

A peregrine falcon which was found injured in Nottingham has been successfully reunited with its family.

The young female bird was found on the ground near the Queen's Medical Centre at the end of June, with injuries that meant it was unable to fly or perch.

A joint effort by Brinsley Animal Rescue (BAR) in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital nursed the bird back to health and allowed it to practice flying.

When released on Thursday, it quickly found its parents, with staff saying the reunion "brought tears to our eyes".

Release 'a privilege'

Jon Beresford, one of BAR's founders, said finding a peregrine on the ground was unusual.

"Unlike the vast majority of birds, when they fledge they don't land on the ground, they have short flights from the nest and they go back to the nest.

"So somehow she was found grounded and injured.

"So I suspect during her first trips from the nest flying, she's come a cropper, she's hit something," he said.

It was found the bird was the offspring of a male peregrine successfully treated by BAR last year.

But the shelter did not have the facilities for a young bird to continue to learn to fly, so it was taken to an aviary at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital.

Beresford said all the effort was worth it when the falcon had recovered.

"It's a privilege not only to treat such a magnificent bird as a peregrine falcon, but also to release her and see her fly again so well."

After hearing "some squawks", she found her parents and siblings.

"It really brought tears to our eyes," said Beresford.