Bird of prey rescued after getting tangled in tree in Sefton Park
It got into a bit of a sticky situation on a branch
A bird of prey was rescued in a joint operation between the RSPCA and the fire service after getting tangled 20ft (6m) up a tree.
The animal welfare charity was contacted on Wednesday (15 March) by a member of the public who spotted the stricken goshawk struggling to free themselves from the tree in Greenbank Drive, in the Sefton Park area of Liverpool.
The bird, who was owned and not wild, had got tangled due to the jesses - leather straps used in falconry - on its feet.
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes and animal rescue officer John Littlewood attended to try and free the bird - but upon realising how high up the bird was, contacted Merseyside Fire Service, who have specialist equipment, to help.
Anthony said:
“The goshawk’s jesses had gotten tangled in the branches and they were flapping around desperately trying to free themselves. Had they been left longer they could have seriously injured themselves.
“The fire service were great and managed to reach the bird using a long ladder. It’s a great reminder what we can achieve together for animal welfare.
“Firefighters used a saw to cut the branch tangled in the bird’s wing and lowered them down to us using a pulley system. I checked the goshawk over and thankfully they didn’t seem to be injured, however we transferred the bird to one of our wildlife hospitals for a thorough check-over.”
The goshawk’s owner has since come forward to claim the bird.
RSPCA officers are trained to use ladders, which they carry for rescues like this, however, in situations where we are still unable to reach the animals, they may ask the fire service to help and they often use animal rescues as a vital training aid.