Mayday! One of our birds is missing
Every parent remembers their child’s first steps but Ealing Hospital’s newest peregrines had a lot further fall on their virgin flight.
The pair of seven-week-old juveniles gave parents Dusty and Freddy a fright when they both disappeared after taking flight from their tenth storey home for the first time.
Ealing Wildlife Group swung into action after picking up chatter on social media that one of the raptors had been spotted on the ground.
It was spotted later that evening perched on top of a car roof but the group found no sign of it on arrival and gave up the search as night fell.
Local vet Sean McCormack said: “It was a worry because on the ground they are prey to predators like foxes and we just hoped it had enough sense to roost somewhere off the ground overnight.
“Flying is completely new to them at this age and they quickly tire so winging their way back up ten stories is a lot to ask. They’d usually glide down to a lower roof so they would have legroom to take flight again.
“We heard the next day that it had been spotted on the opposite side of the main road sitting on a fence so I went from house to house asking if people had seen it.”
Sean struck lucky after several houses whose owner confirmed they had seen the bird and Sean safely caught it and returned it home while its frantic parents screeched overhead.
The returned peregrine’s brother appeared shortly afterwards having decided to go off and explore the rest of the hospital site before hearing his parents call and returning under his own wing.
The young birds of prey are expected to stay on the hospital site for another couple of months learning to fly and hunt before their parents drive them out.