Rfalconcam Forum

Eagle-eyed officers at Bath police station swooped to save an abandoned baby peregrine falcon today. (June 17)

The 6-week old bird of prey had fallen from its nest high on the steeple of St John's Catholic Church in South Parade.

It was too young to fly and, lost and lonely in the police station car park, was in danger of being mobbed by angry gulls.

Officers kept the birds at bay and called an expert from the Hawk and Owl Trust to take the peregrine into custody.

Mike Rogers, from the Trust, put the young male bird into a rucksack – and carried it back to the nest box on the church tower.

"It's just a bit too young to fly, but big enough to leave the nest and move around the stonework," he said.

"It obviously just fell off and fluttered down. But it wouldn't have been able to fly back up, so thanks to the police we're able to return it."

The Bath peregrines have been an aerial attraction for several years. The Hawk and Owl Trust put up a nest box five years ago and the birds have bred successfully ever since.

This year there are four chicks, all ready to leave the nest in the next week or so.

And if, like Bath police, you find a lost young peregrine, the advice is don't handle it – just contact the Hawk and Owl Trust on 0844 984 2824 or via their website www.hawkandowl.org.

 :clap:  Thanks pi...oops I mean Donna! :devil: :harhar:

He may have been a bit older than C & J but he flutttered!  :2thumbsup:

I caught that :2thumbsup:  Flutter is good in this situation!  Our hearts fluttering as we deal with this is  :scaredblue:

At least there was a happy ending to the story for the little one!  Yes, Jeanne, our hearts will definitely be fluttering this year!

Today, I was so nervous watching Callidora that I held my cell phone with me at work in case I had to scream for Brian H or Susan!  She fell over this morning almost when she was walking in the nestbox so seeing her preen on the edge of the ledge was almost too much for me.   :o

My two modest fledgewatch shifts this year reminded me of the most nerve-wracking thing about this time - how these birds' boundless energy and power is coupled with their utter discombobulation!  They flap and flap and flap and do big old hops from one side of the windowbox to the other, basically flying back and forth, with no sense that they had any idea what was happening to them! They'd flap on the edge, and would have flown off a million times if not for the fact that they were gripping the edge with their talons! I also had a phone gripped in my hand - to call for backup in case!!

Juvies:  :silly: :hyper: I swear they do it to us on purpose!

Can you imagine what we would be like if all 4 had hatched?

 :no: :hatch1: They should stay this size :hatch1:   :devil: