Kestrels set to be freed
Three baby kestrels found in a nest yards away from their dead mother have been hand-reared back to full health by a company in Cannock. Three baby kestrels found in a nest yards away from their dead mother have been hand-reared back to full health by a company in Cannock. The birds were so weak it is thought they would not have survived the night when they were rescued from high up a multi-storey building but they are now considered well enough to be released into the wild. They will be set free at Drayton Manor Park near Tamworth on Monday. Several primary schools in Tamworth have been challenged to think up names for the kestrels. The winner will be given a family day ticket to the theme park. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
The birds were so weak it is thought they would not have survived the night when they were rescued from high up a multi-storey building but they are now considered well enough to be released into the wild.
They will be set free at Drayton Manor Park near Tamworth on Monday. Several primary schools in Tamworth have been challenged to think up names for the kestrels.
The winner will be given a family day ticket to the theme park.
Gary Cook, from Cannock-based Pestex Environmental Services' rope access division, spotted the orphaned baby kestrels while carrying out general maintenance work to a high-rise building in West Bromwich on June 5.
He kept an eye on the nest for three days, waiting for the second parent to return but did not see any other birds.
Mr Cook called in Martin Warner, of the company's falconry division, who attended the site to assess the situation.
Mr Warner decided help was needed on June 8 if the young birds were to live as they were very weak and frail.
The birds were taken to their new location, which has not been revealed, where they could be fed and cared for until they were strong enough to survive alone in the wild.
The first 48 hours were deemed to be crucial to the chicks but the future started to look brighter and they started getting stronger.
Pestex Environmental Services, based off East Cannock Road, uses various birds of prey in its work and the kestrels are currently with those birds.
George Bryan Jnr, estates manager at Drayton Manor Park, was contacted and asked if he could help and agreed without hesitation as he had plenty of fields and woodlands available for the birds to live in.
Several nesting boxes have been fitted in the grounds of Drayton Manor Park to encourage them to nest.
