Published on Tue Jun 22 09:48:25 BST 2010
A plot to steal a rare bird of prey has been foiled by eagle-eyed church volunteers.
Four peregrine falcon chicks have been nesting high up in the tower at St Walburge’s Church in Ashton, Preston.
But one of the young fledglings plunged from its safe perch and had to be rescued from the church grounds.
The chick and a sibling that also fell from the nest a few days later have since had to be removed to a secret safehouse to protect them, after two young volunteers who help out at the church overheard a man on a mobile phone discussing selling one of the birds.
Hugh Reid, maintenance man at St Walburge’s, said: “The first chick was exercising its wings when it fell and did not have enough strength to fly back up.
“Someone must have been watching us and saw us put them on the top of the sacristy.
“Two of our lads came round the corner and saw a bloke, asking how much money he could sell a chick for.
“We have had to take them away for now.”
Hugh called out bird of prey expert Andy Bilsborough, who runs Turbary Woods Owl and Bird Sanctuary in Whitestake, near Preston, for help.
The chicks were not harmed in the fall but the birds needed to be taken somewhere safe until they get better at flying, when they will rejoin their parents.
Peregrine falcons are a protected species, meaning it is illegal to disturb their nest.
The chicks will be microchipped and ringed to help keep them safe.
Andy said: “The chicks are capable of flying, but not yet to the top of one of the highest steeples in England.
“We have had to take them into isolation, away from the public, and put them on an intensive diet until they get their strength up and are strong enough to fly up.
“When they first leave the nest, sometimes the birds are on the ground until they build up a bit of stamina.
“But unfortunately there are some unscrupulous people about.”
Police probed the shooting of a peregrine falcon chick in Grindleton Quarry, near Clitheroe, two years ago.
In safe hands: Peregrine falcon chicks have been taken to a safe place after a man was heard arranging a deal
