Do You Believe in Miracles? We do!
June Summers, President, Genesee Valley Audubon (GVAS), received a call from the owner of the Wilder Bldg last night. They don’t go down to the basement frequently, but a member of the staff had to go down there and was startled by a large bird. June and the owner went down to the basement and found a juvenile Peregrine Falcon with a red band! Zara was quite feisty, but they were able to capture her.
June immediately took her to a local rehabber. Zara is thin, but seems to be in good shape. She was fed and will see a Veterinarian today.
You can imagine our total surprise! Zara had been missing for nearly 2 weeks. The Rochester Falcon Watchers now believe in miracles!
We’ll post updates as we receive them.
July 22nd, 2022 at 1:43 PM
What wonderful news, I had a feeling she was trapped somewhere. Please tell me they won’t release her back without training her to hunt? The parents likely wouldn’t accept her back now and would drive her off after such a long time.
July 22nd, 2022 at 1:58 PM
Amazing. Just amazing!! Zara is a survivor for sure 🥰
July 22nd, 2022 at 1:58 PM
What awesome news! How did she ever get down there?
July 22nd, 2022 at 2:10 PM
How did she survive for two whole weeks without being fed by her parents?
Unless the parents saw how she got down into the cellar and threw food down for her. Or she was somewhere not all the way down in the cellar for a while and was fed for that time.
Kathy, it could be that the family will welcome her back. That would complete the miracle. It could be that if she is released into the box (or possibly in the well under the box), it would strike a chord with them.
July 22nd, 2022 at 2:43 PM
They won’t accept her back after this long. I’ve seen it fail far too many times including year before last when a little male was gone the same amount of time as Zara and was immediately driven out on release, even after his sibling tried to reconnect with him – the parents saw him as a stranger. This female isn’t like Beauty, she’s far more hands off than Beauty and DC were. Besides, she’s also too far behind now, the parents would treat her like the others and assume she was as advanced as they are.
July 22nd, 2022 at 2:46 PM
Great!!!
July 22nd, 2022 at 3:20 PM
Great news and a miracle!
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:01 PM
This are wonderful news!!
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:04 PM
She needs to be with a falconer, to teach her the ropes, after she has been fed well etc.
We also tried to release a female after 2 weeks rehab in Edmonton and Radisson chased her off. It was not a good thing to witness. Luckily green girl had been fledged for 2 weeks and had some skills.
She did return to our area 2 years later to nest at Weber. But a youngster, as this one , with no training, would not make it.
Just my experience. Please rethink releasing her, and rest her and let a falconer train her.
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:06 PM
Hope my comment comes through. It said it was duplicated. If I do not see it , I will repost as it an important one
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:10 PM
That’s the best news I have never stopped thinking of her and have been praying she would show up I truly hope she can be rehabilitated and reunited with her siblings and parents – welcome back Zara hope to see you soon !
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Fantastic!!! Good things do happen!!!!
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:29 PM
Zara was lost to us for 14 days. A fully grown peregrine eats about 2.5 ounces of food every day and according to some on-line sources will die in a “few days” without any food. Even assuming she had a full crop when she was lost, she had been on short rations in the days before her first flight, which was on the day she was lost.
Zara must have gotten food from somewhere, considering how good she looks in her rescue picture!, and that somewhere would pretty much have to have been Nova and Neander. If they had been keeping her in some kind of nourishment before she landed in the basement, they could still consider her offspring and not an interloper when she emerges “from the basement”.
July 22nd, 2022 at 4:37 PM
That is indeed a miracle. Has she been there all this time when she went missing? How did she survive? We will never know but knowing she is still alive and relatively well is astounding.
July 22nd, 2022 at 9:00 PM
The DEC will make all final decisions on Zara’s care and what happens to her. She is currently in the care of a rehabber and will be looked at by a Vet.
We may never know how she survived these past 2 weeks. It may always be a mystery.
We will share any updates about how she is doing. We’re all hoping and praying that she is ok.
July 23rd, 2022 at 9:25 AM
Amazing news! That basement must have had a mouse problem and doesn’t any more. Hope her rehab goes well.
July 23rd, 2022 at 2:48 PM
LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU SWEET GIRL!
July 24th, 2022 at 12:12 PM
Best thoughts here for Zara. Just a wonderful lift in this crazy world. This why I never say never
July 25th, 2022 at 10:43 AM
Great news! I am curious how she managed to to become trapped in the Wider Bldg basement and survive -without parental feeding.
July 25th, 2022 at 2:01 PM
So happy she is doing well. Thank you for taking such great care of her.