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Injured peregrine falcon rescued from cliff rocks

Julia Gregory,Devonand
Lisa Young,South West
News imageThe Cove Discovery Project A man's hands hold the peregrine falcon. It has a grey and yellow beak which is open and it has a yellow circle around its black eyes. The feathers on the wing are damaged. There are towels beneath it.The Cove Discovery Project
The year-old fledgling was taken to raptor rehabilitators

An injured peregrine falcon has been rescued after it was found stranded on rocks.

Brixham fisherman Tristan Northway discovered the falcon, waterlogged and with visible injuries, near Berry Head's cliffs and took it to a marine wildlife team at the Cove Discovery Project in Brixham in Devon.

Duncan Kenny from the project said he thought the year-old bird had moved into the territory of a dominant female which may have attacked it.

"It is rare to rescue a peregrine and it was a privilege as you rarely handle them," said Kenny, who is a licenced peregrine ringer.

News imageThe Cove Discovery Project A man's hands are holding the peregrine falcon and tilting its feet up. The feet are yellow and have long claws. Its black eyes are ringed with yellow and its grey beak is outlined in yellow. It has speckled brown feathers.The Cove Discovery Project
Kenny said the peregrine may have been oiled by fulmars

The falcon was then handed to the raptor rehabilitators Devon Peregrines who observed it looked like it had also been attacked by fulmars before becoming waterlogged.

The rehabilitation team said the bird was "very wet and had some visible injuries possibly sustained from scrambling on the rocks".

"Other than some superficial injuries, damaged feathers and being rather waterlogged, the bird seems to be in good condition otherwise," they added.

Kenny said the falcon had been exhausted after being in the water for some time.

He said: "It could not recover as it could not get out of the water. Peregrines do not have oily feathers so when they get wet they get waterlogged."

He said the bird had oil on its back which could have come from fulmars that had spat out in defence.

The fulmar, a grey and white seabird which is related to the albatross, defends its nest by spitting out a foul-smelling oil at intruders.

The Devon Peregrines team said if there were no complications, it was hoped the peregrine falcon could be returned to the wild when it had recovered.

News imageThe Cove Discovery Project A man is holding the peregrine falcon by holding its feet and gently holding its neck with the right hand. The bird is in profile. It has yellow feet, a grey beak ringed with yellow and a black eye ringed with yellow.The Cove Discovery Project
It is hoped the falcon will recover enough to be returned to the wild

Now a protected species, the number of peregrine falcons declined dramatically in the 1960s due to a combination of human persecution and the impact of pesticides in the food chain.

They can reach speeds of about 200mph (322km/h) in pursuit of prey, making them the fastest creatures on the planet.

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