A hailstorm that hit KwaZulu-Natal on March 9 2019 resulted in the death of a large number of Amur falcons. Thankfully over 1,000 of the birds that survived (with injuries) and were found roosting in trees near Mooi River were able to be rescued.
The Mooi River & District SPCA released a statement thanking the local community, who rallied together to help rescue the injured birds.
‘Thanks for helping us save the Amur falcons! The hailstorm on Saturday killed and injured many of these birds that were roosting in trees near the Mooi River Engen Garage, but our wonderful community came to help us get them to Free Me in Howick. A special thank you to Khalid and his family, and Sean and family who worked so hard to help us.’
Amur falcons are small raptors which breed in the South-East Siberia and Northern China. These birds migrate in large flocks to South Africa during the Asian winter season.
The birds were transported to the Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, a non-profit organisation that functions to assist in the care and rehabilitation of sick and injured wildlife.
Footage of the birds in the aftermath of the hailstorm was captured and many are visibly injured and unable to fly due to this.
The Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre has also thanked several members of the community, along with emergency services, for their efforts to ensure the falcons were rescued in a social media post.
‘A VERY BIG thank you to Nsele Emergency Services (Sarah) for finding the problem and notifying us, Mooi River & District SPCA (Kevin), and members of the public Shaun, Stephanie, Fazila, Fathima, Suhail, and Khalid for going out and rescuing these birds last night in the rain and bringing them through to the FREEME KZN team…..we salute you!!’
After further inspection of the falcons brought into the centre, it was discovered that there was in fact another species among them along with the Amur species of falcons.
‘An update on the Amur Falcon rescue…..we have assessed and treated just over 900 birds thus far, these are not only Amur Falcons, there are a few Red-footed Falcons here too (they roost together).’
The birds were attended to with the greatest care by the team at the Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
Falcons being cleaned and attended to by the team at the Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Image: Facebook
All of the falcons had to be ringed, a process by which a bird ‘banding’ or attachment of a individually numbered metal or plastic tag is attached to the leg or wing of a wild bird. This helps with identifying the bird and keeping track of its movements.
The ringing process was carried out by SAFRING ringers.
More than 1,000 falcons were treated for injuries at the onsite clinic at the Free Me centre.
‘We have treated all the birds,1,020 falcons have been moved to our outside raptor flight tunnel we think all these birds will make it for their migration and will be monitored over the next few days…..still 70 birds in care inside our clinic, six of which need surgery tomorrow…..what a day!! The FREEME KZN team have been going for 18 hours straight since 10.30pm last night, we finally rounded the day off at 4.30pm today after all 1,090 birds had been checked and treated!’
Falcons in the raptor tunnel at the wildlife rehabilitation centre. Image: Facebook
The team at Free Me attending to the birds. Image: Facebook
Unfortunately, 700 bird carcasses were also found at the Mooi River roosting site. The centre said these will be used for educational purposes.
‘What did we do with over 700 dead birds? Well these were all donated to the Durban Natural History Museum, University of KwaZulu Natal and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) for DNA, isotope analysis, gene pool analysis, further research, and taxidermy. This is how FREEME KZN adds value to our community and the world, sharing information and working together to enrich lives.’
On March 11, 400 of the falcons were released back into the wild.
A falcon after being ringed. Image: Facebook
In the centre’s most recent update, 530 falcons were said to have been ringed and released, and said there was pressure to ensure that these birds made it out in the sky in time for the approaching migration period.
‘Exhausted but ready for a new day, time was against us as we needed to get as many falcons out so they could make their migration, which is about to happen within the next two weeks…..that being said, we also had to make sure the birds being released were in a good enough condition to survive.’
They added that some birds are still undergoing treatment.
‘All the birds in the external flight aviary that were in a good condition were released. The remaining birds were sorted and those that still had injuries were sent back to the clinics for further assessment and treatment.”
Members of the public who would like to contribute and get involved in work with the Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre can find more information here.
Image: Free Me Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Facebook
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