Kestrel chicks rescued by wildlife center

When the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center recently rescued two common kestrel chicks it received from different sources, it quickly established that the birds were siblings. With the help of the center's staff members, the birds were successfully returned to their nest in a residential building in the capital's Fengtai district on Thursday and Friday.

On May 14, Zhou Lei, a raptor rehabilitator with the BRRC, was contacted by police who had received a common kestrel chick. The police said the falcon had been found in Fengtai's Jingliang Yuegu residential community, but its nest could not be located. As such, Zhou took the falcon back to the center to care for it and prepare it for release once it was fully grown.

On Thursday, the BRRC received a call for help with a second common kestrel chick, which turned out to be a sibling of the bird that had been found earlier. It is thought that they had both fallen to the ground during their maiden flights. Rehabilitation staff and community employees searched for their nest outside the residential building and found three other chicks of the same age, all about a month old.

Liang Geng, secretary of the Jingliang Yuegu community Party committee who dealt with the second bird, said: "We found that this little bird was different. Although we couldn't determine its species, we were certain that it was a nationally protected wild animal."

With the help of staff members from the district forestry department and animal protection association, Liang contacted the BRRC.

The BRRC confirmed that the second bird was also a common kestrel, which had likely fallen while learning to fly. With guidance from the rescue center's staff members over the phone, community workers placed the bird inside a cardboard box and settled it in a quiet corner, waiting for the center's employees to arrive.

At 2 pm on Thursday, a raptor rehabilitator from the BRRC arrived at the community, where employees and property workers helped her search for the fallen bird's nest, which was eventually located on a high-rise building in a residential estate. They contacted the residents and returned the chick to its nest.

"Our center receives many raptor chicks and juveniles every year. By using scientific feeding methods, we successfully release them back into nature after they have grown up. However, it is better for young raptors to learn hunting, flying and survival skills in the wild with their parents. Therefore, if we can locate the nests of young birds, we try our best to send them back home," Zhou said.

Liang said: "This was the first time we saw a raptor chick, which was quite different from our expectations of 'raptors'. But we were all excited and had a sense of accomplishment at helping find the birds' nest. Being neighbors with these wild animals helps us feel the harmony between humans and nature."

She added that the committee will use the BRRC's scientific brochures to help community residents better understand raptors and wildlife.

The common kestrel is a small bird and one of the few raptors that can live in urban areas. The breeding season is starting in Beijing, with birds gradually entering their reproductive phase.

If nestlings or juveniles fall due to nest failures or difficult first flights, it is hoped that citizens will contact the relevant professional rescue organizations, the BRRC said.

According to the center, raptors play an important role in maintaining environmental health and ecological balance, and also help control the pest and insect populations.

In recent years, they have faced challenges from habitat destruction, the wildlife trade and other human activities, injuries, illness and malnutrition caused by the loss of nests.

At present, all species of raptors are under level-two or higher protection in China.

The BRRC is a nonprofit wildlife rescue organization established through cooperation between Beijing Normal University and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

It is committed to rescuing raptors through scientific methods and high animal welfare standards, and it promotes raptor rescue and protection.