More Sad News

Since the video by John Salloway was posted showing all three juveniles last week, some of you may have noticed that there have not been any moments when all three young birds have been seen together since. There is a reason for this, and we have thought long and hard over the last few days about what information to make public – and when.

As you know, we have always stated that we would not attempt to capture any bird, adult or juvenile that seemed to be injured or ill. But if found on the ground or elsewhere unable to fly, we would do our best for such a bird, for example by returning a juvenile to the top of the tower. That position has been tested this last week, and the situation is still unfolding, and our stance may yet change.

On Wednesday last week we had a call from the RSPCA - the major UK animal welfare charity. They had been called by a security guard the previous evening who had found our remaining female juvenile falcon (010) grounded inside the former police station just across the street from Derby Cathedral. She seemed unable or unwilling to fly, so their animal welfare officer collected the bird and, unable to make contact with us at that time of the evening, took it to a specialist welfare shelter some miles away for overnight care.

The next day Nick B. collected 010 from the animal sanctuary and brought her back to Derby to release her. Although 010 had eaten well and looked bright eyed, the sanctuary owner expressed some concerns about the bird’s wings and so Nick B asked our local falconer Colin P. to check the bird over before she was released.

At it happened a number of people, including Colin, had noticed that this juvenile had been reluctant to fly on the tower over the previous couple of days. This indicated some sort of problem and so, armed with this knowledge, it was decided to get some expert opinion about her condition. Colin agreed to look after her meanwhile and he reported back that 010 had adapted to captivity quickly, continue to eat lustily and was very calm, making her an ideal patient.

It also turned out that the RSPCA were involved with a BBC TV programme called Animal Rescue 24:7 which focuses on animal welfare incidents. The programmers had asked if they could film the story to be broadcast sometime next year. We agreed and a film crew turned up to film the bird at the sanctuary and her return to Derby, though by then we had decided she should not be released.

The following day Colin took 010 to a local vet who agreed the bird was not 100% and referred her to a second vet with specialist skill in treating birds of prey. There she was X-rayed and was found to have dislocated her left shoulder joint some time earlier. This had gone back into place and had healed - but in the wrong position. This vet felt it was unlikely that she will ever fly again, though the bird was not distressed or in pain as far as he could judge. To make matters worse, the X-ray also revealed that she had at a large shotgun pellets inside her gut. The vet assured Colin that 010 had not been shot directly, but had probably ingested the pellet from a prey item she had fed on, which itself must have survived being shot.

What these pellets are made of is of great concern. It's most likely that they will be standard lead pellets, in which case there is a considerable risk that, if they don't pass though her body naturally (or after giving her an enema to attempt to flush the lead out), they could be digested and enter her tissues. This would eventually result in lead poisoning. Blood tests have been taken and we await the results of these later in the week. If at any stage she exhibits signs of lead poisoning it seems inevitable that 010 will have to be put down at some stage before she deteriorates and suffers further. But so far she appears healthy and well and is a very gentle-natured bird, and is certainly being very well looked after.

If it turns out that there is no lead poisoning – just a weak left wing - the vet’s opinion is that it would probably still be wrong to keep her penned up for the rest of her life, unable to fly. By contrast and depending how she progresses, Colin thinks it might still be possible to exercise her sufficiently such that she could fly a little, even if she can never hunt for herself.

So what do we do? The answer is we don't yet know. We have to think of the bird's welfare first, and what is the best course of action to take. It could be a hard decision to make to put down a wild bird that could face the rest of its long life in captivity; but it would be almost as hard for us to decide that she should remain alive, knowing she might never fly wild again, and certainly not hunt for herself. 010 will be returning to the specialist vet during the week for the results of the blood test. We will probably also try and retrieve and bring you the x-ray which clearly shows the injury she has experienced.

We visited 010 earlier today, and she was calm and at ease in her new environment. In the first picture above she had just been sprayed with water in an attempt to encourage her to preen and move both wings. That she did with ease, though it was clear that her right wing is being held in an abnormal position.

We hope you understand why we decided not to go public with this unfolding story until we knew more about the nature of 010’s problems. It is possible that you may have views which will not coincide with whatever decision the Project team and the veterinary experts decide upon. But rest assured that whatever it is, we'll attempt to do the right thing for falcon 010, and will keep you informed of progress during the coming days.

However, in view of recent unwelcome comments left on this blog when falcon 009 flew into a glass panel and died a week ago, we do not want to see a recurrence of inflammatory remarks being left about 010 which then deteriorate into an unhelpful and aggressive slanging match.
We think all readers of this blog - including children - deserve better. So for a short period all new comments to this post will require pre-moderation by a project member.

Finally we would also like to thank the RSPCA who took in 010 and who met the cost of the initial vet's fees, and to P.Nurse of Ambivet for his care and concern. Over the weekend she was also visited by one of Derbyshire Police's Wildlife Liaison Officers and her possession at the moment by an experienced falconer has been registered in accordance with UK law. So, most importantly, our thanks to Colin P. for his care and concern for this poor falcon.

Latest Update (29/6/09): The vet's blood analysis apparently shows low levels of lead in her body, which is good news for now. She is scheduled for another check-up next week.