A Co Donegal bird-lover can’t believe his luck after his beloved peregrine falcon was found after being spotted one hundred miles from his home in Belfast.
A Peregrine Falcon
Liam Conaghan, from Letterkenny, feared the worst when his young falcon Shadow went missing.
The captive-bred bird of prey escaped from her owner during a training flight and flew all the way to Belfast – before turning round and ending up in Draperstown in Derry.
Ten week old Shadow was too young to be able to hunt for food and was facing starvation and almost certain death in the wild.
She was exhausted, starving and unable to travel any further when she was found sheltering on the roof of the Back Row Recreation Centre in Draperstown.
The hungry bird was captured in a butterfly net by Malachy McGuigan and Stephanie Baine, landscape officer with the Sperrins Gateway Landscape Partnership, and brought to safety with the help of Talnotry Avian Care Trust (TACT) Wildlife Rescue Centre in Crumlin, Co Antrim.
Stephanie said: “She was on the roof looking really exhausted and in desperate need of help. We were able to capture her without too much difficulty.”
The bird had an identifying ring and staff contacted her owner Liam Conaghan.
A relieved and delighted Liam said: “I can’t believe Shadow was found alive.”
The peregrine had been spotted in Belfast two days earlier but had evaded capture.
Debbie Nelson of TACT added: “It was lucky that Stephanie had handled birds like this before. I am not sure it would have survived much longer in the wild.”