Although birds of prey are a common sight around East Anglia, most people are fortunate to never find a sick or injured bird that needs our help. For Amy Falcon, this year has seen her bring in two injured birds to our hospital. The first, a hobby brought in over the summer, was unfortunately put to sleep due to the extent of it’s injuries. However, a few weeks ago we got another call from Amy, who had found a Kestrel on the road at Southwold.
Upon arrival, the adult female Kestrel was checked over by out falconers, who found no obvious injuries or swelling that would be associated with a road traffic collision. They did find a tiny wound on her leg, which was also showing signs of bruising. This suggests that she got in a fight with another bird of prey and came off worse, although was very fortunate to not be hit by a car!
Kestrels are commonly seen perching on posts or trees near roads, where they wait for rodents to make an appearance. Grassy verges are vital for wildlife and have been shown to connect otherwise isolated populations, creating a green network across the UK. However, living so close to fast traffic does come at a cost, as discussed in our blog over the summer:
https://www.owl-help.org.uk/blog/2020/9/7/the-dangers-of-roads
The Kestrel was a bit thin, although not starving, so she was kept in for some aviary rest and to be given a few decent meals of mice, which included some pain relief for her leg. After about a week, she was showing signs that she was ready to be released, so was delivered to Amy, who released her not too far from where she was originally found.
We would like to thank Amy, and all of the other concerned members of the public who call us about sick or injured birds of prey. Without your help these birds would not be provided with the care and medical treatment required to get them fit again for release, ensuring their survival.