A few weeks ago we received a call from a local printing warehouse. They had discovered a Sparrowhawk inside the warehouse and wanted some advice on how to persuade it to leave.
Mat and Jay attended with some nets and quickly established that the bird had a regular flight route around the warehouse. Thankfully, a gantry storage area enabled them to get closer to the roof space and they made several attempts to catch the bird from this area, all unsuccessfully. The bird was quite fit and not in any danger inside the warehouse, so it was left overnight for a second attempt the next day.
On their way to check on the bird the following morning, Mat picked up some helium balloons. Whilst balloons released into the wild do cause massive impacts on wildlife, we needed some method of pushing the bird gently into the area where we could catch her more easily, as she seemed to have settled in the highest rafters. Upon arrival, the balloons were deployed on long strings and had the desired effect. However, this bird had now spent over 48 hours in the warehouse and knew exactly how to evade capture!
With Plan B having failed, the team reconvened to discuss the options. They called some local bird ringing contacts to see if anybody was available to help with a mist net, a fine net usually held in place by poles and used to catch birds. Unfortunately, nobody with the correct licences was available, so we formulated Plan D, which involved waiting until it got dark and using a high powered lamp to dazzle the bird and hopefully allow us to net her.
That afternoon, Mat and Susan arrived at the warehouse and were hopeful as the bird had now had a few day without food and should have been a bit less full of energy. Unfortunately, this bird was super fit and was quickly flying laps of the warehouse again to demonstrate her ability! Even more worrying was that she had grown accustomed to the balloons which had been left in situ, so much so that we could actually boop her on the tail and beak without much reaction! She seemed to know our plans though, and avoided the gantry area.
We waited until it got dark and she had settled on a slightly lower rafter, before Susan switched the lamp on to dazzle her. Mat was able to sneak in behind her and with one attempt, safely had her caught in the net!
Mat and Susan gave her a quick check before putting her into one of our travel boxes. As it was now around 6.30, Mat took the bird home with him overnight.
The following morning, Jess gave her a thorough check. She had a broken toe, which we suspect was an old injury as there was no swelling or bruising (which might have indicated it had been sustained during her time in the warehouse). She was very fit though, with good muscle coverage and a good weight despite not having fed for a few days. Susan was on hand to ring her (as she’d been in captivity for less than 24 hours) and determined that she was a 2nd year bird, based on her feathers.
Because Sparrowhawks can get very stressed in captivity, we were keen to release her promptly, so Mat made yet another journey to the warehouse, which was actually next to a large country park. Mat placed the box on the ground and opened it. The Sparrowhawk spent a few seconds adjusting to her surroundings, then realising where she was, she quickly took flight! As soon as she was in the air, a number of Woodpigeons took off from the surrounding trees and she gave chase, disappearing into the woodland!
You can see the full rescue mission here.
We would like to thank the team at Five Castles Press for calling us in the first place to help with this rescue. They kept us posted on how she was doing throughout her time in the warehouse and were very helpful at every attempt, even stopping late so we could work in darkness for our final successful attempt.
We’d also like to thank With Love Sparkles, Ipswich, for supplying us with the balloons and to Anglia Fishing & Fieldsports, Stonham Barns, for the loan of the lamp which ultimately led to her capture.