Birkenhead traffic warden rescues dazed peregrine falcon from rain storm

Jan 4 2012 by Ben Bryant, Liverpool Echo

A PEREGRINE falcon which flew into trouble during a storm was released back into the wild by the unlikely hero who rescued it – a traffic warden.

The bird of prey was set free on New Year’s Day, just over a month after eagle-eyed Lee Gallagher spotted it stumbling around near Hamilton Square, in Birkenhead.

According to a resident, the dazed falcon was sat in John Street in torrential rain for an hour and a half, leading to the 40-year-old from Birkenhead to take matters into his own hands.

Recalling the bird-handling skills his pigeon-racing neighbour taught him as a child, Lee approached the bird with his jacket as a shield and carefully scooped it up with his bare hands.

He said: “It is very unusual for any bird of prey to be so gentle. He was just so tired and so hungry.

“It was as if he knew I was there to save him and he just stayed in my arms until I got him to the car, then let me stroke the back of his head.

“He looked very confused out there in the road. I think he might have hit a wall and fallen due to the fierce rain, which was almost horizontal.”

Lee took the falcon to Seaview Veterinary Centre, in Wallasey.

It did not have any broken bones but was underweight, so it was moved to the RSPCA Stapeley Grange wildlife centre, in Cheshire, where it was nursed back to health.

Andrew Smith, supervisor at Stapeley Grange, said: “It was fantastic that Lee did not get into a flap when he found this bird and had the calm mind to pick it up and bring it to us.

“It was in quite a bad state and would have struggled had he left it where he was.

“I hope his new feathered friend doesn’t land on a double-yellow line now and test the friendship!”

On New Year’s Day, Lee returned to Hamilton Square to release the bird.

Opening the box to free the falcon, he reached down to hold him for one last time.

Lee said: “He got spooked at first, but then he looked over his shoulder as if to say ‘hello, it’s you again’.”

He added: “To actually see a bird like this in the distance in the wild is one thing, but to get so close, have the honour of rescuing it and then actually be there as it makes its way back to where it belongs was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“It was like all my Christmas presents rolled into one and the best new start to the year for me and him.

“It is nice to show that us traffic wardens do not always deserve the bad reputation we have – some of us have a soft side.”