Leaving the nest isn't something young birds get right every time. And last week a holiday maker in Scarborough alterted us to a young peregrine falcon who had made the leap of faith a bit too early.
A pair of these impressive birds has been nesting on the Grand Hotel in Scarborough this season and successfully raised two chicks. One had already fledged and when the second one decided to venture out into the big wide world, his departure didn't quite go to plan and he ended up on the pavement outside an amusement arcade on the sea-front.
A holiday maker spotted the young bird near the Olympia Leisure complex on the foreshore where it was being attacked by gulls. They rang the RSPB at Bempton Cliffs for advice who in turn called Scarborough based Wildlife Rescue.
The young bird was subsequently collected by Wildlife Rescue from Olympia’s bowling alley where he had been left in a towel-lined box for safe-keeping. Advice from bird of prey experts recommended feeding him for a couple of days and then returning him to the wild as soon as possible.
So after a two days of TLC, Jim Ward of Wildlife Rescue along with Steve Race from RSPB Bempton Cliffs took the bird back to the Grand Hotel and gingerly released him from one of the bedrooms on the upper floor (apparently this involved leaning out of a high window and noticing that it was a long way down.)
20 minutes later, the young bird couldn't be seen anywhere on the hotel's ledges or roof line so the team assumed that he'd got it right second time around. Although there's always the chance that he returned to the arcades to try out the slot machines.
Photo: Steve Race