Legal Eagle

News
Shot peregrine
rehabilitated and released
A juvenile peregrine was found shot in Suffolk in August 2014. Since
then, the bird has had extensive specialist care and has been successfully
released back into the wild. BTO ringer Peter Wilkinson takes up the story.
Returning injured birds of prey to
the wild takes time, determination
and skill, but can be very rewarding.
The Raptor Foundation, near St Ives,
Cambridgeshire, has many years’
experience of rehabilitating birds of
prey. When the juvenile peregrine
was found shot in Suffolk in August
2014, the RSPB Investigations team
suggested that she should be taken
to the centre.
X-rays showed that Madam (as she
quickly became known) had shotgun
pellets in her body, wing and a toe.
Fortunately none of these injuries
were life-threatening, but if the one
in her toe had resulted in the loss of
use of the foot, her return to the
wild would have been impossible.
Simon Dudhill, the volunteer
hospital manager at the Foundation,
spent considerable time providing
physiotherapy to Madam’s toe over
several weeks.
Once it became clear that she
had adequate grip in that foot
and that release was a realistic
prospect, Liz Blows, founder of
the Raptor Foundation, helped
Madam to regain the fitness she
would need to survive in the wild.
Madam also needed to moult
out a number of feathers that
had been damaged.
First she had to be taught to sit
on the fist, and then she was
flown increasing distances while
attached to a line (in falconry
terms, a creance).
Finally, the day came when she
had grown her new feathers and
she was judged fit enough to go
back to the wild.
On 20 October 2015, Madam was
released back into the wild, in front
of an admiring group. Only time will
tell whether she survives, but the
dedication and determination of
all at the Raptor Foundation has
given her the best possible chance.
Fingers crossed for her and kudos
to the Raptor Foundation.
Simon Dudhill and Liz Blows, both from the Raptor Foundation, just before Madam was released.
Peter Wilkinson
News
Peregrine chicks stolen from
South Yorkshire quarry
An RSPB covert surveillance camera has caught a man raiding a peregrine
falcon nest site in South Yorkshire.
In spring 2015, the RSPB
Investigations team was told that
a peregrine nest site in a quarry in
South Yorkshire had been robbed
the previous year. After liaison with
SK58 Birders, a Yorkshire bird study
group, it was feared criminals might
try to target the nest again.
RSPB Investigations staff
visited the active nest and set
up a covert surveillance camera.
The nest failed, so we reviewed
the footage. This showed, during
the afternoon of 8 May 2015,
a man climbing to the nest and
removing a chick.
The footage was passed to South
Yorkshire Police, and the National
Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) was
notified. Following enquiries,
the police have issued an appeal
to the public to try to identify the
suspect. The RSPB is offering
a reward of £1,000 for information
leading to the successful conviction
of the offender. Contact South
Yorkshire Police on 101 or the
RSPB on 01767 680551 if you
have any information.
The full video of the robbery
can be viewed at youtube.com/
watch?v=fZJ7xo3FGCc
Do you know this man?
Can the RSPB Rope Access
Team help you?
The RSPB Investigations Section, which now has four trained Rope Access
staff, is ready to assist police or other agencies tackling high-level wildlife crime.
The nature of wildlife crime often
means that recovery of evidence
and related enquiries can be
problematic because of lack of
access to difficult locations. This is
particularly the case with offences
relating to tree- and cliff-nesting
species, such as birds of prey.
Over the years, the RSPB has
used rope access techniques
in numerous wildlife crime
investigations, often assisting
statutory agencies.
This has included the recovery of
illegally killed birds and abandoned
eggs, the recovery of traps illegally
set on peregrine nest sites and
returning falcon chicks to alternative
foster nests.
The recent case in Bury (see
page three), when two illegally
taken peregrine chicks were
fostered into a wild nest, shows
the advantages of such facilities.
Howard Jones, based in the north
of England, has recently trained in
Rope Access and is part of the
RSPB’s Rope Access Team.
If you feel that the team can assist
with your investigations, please
contact the RSPB Investigations
Section on 01767 680551.
The RSPB Rope Access Team
returning a peregrine to the wild
RSPB James Leonard (RSPB)
12
13