Orphaned falcons in foster nests

Two peregrine falcon chicks whose parents were caught and killed in traps have been re-homed with foster families.

Last month the RSPB rescued the chicks from a nest at a quarry near Cannock in Staffordshire.

Officers said they believed the spring traps could have been set by pigeon-racing enthusiasts.

The chicks have now been placed with other peregrine parents in the wild which were already raising youngsters.

The traps were found just days after a similar incident at a quarry near Kingswinford in the West Midlands.

'Cannot count'

There three spring-traps were found set around a nest and two eggs were found smashed.

The RSPB has put up a £1,000 cash reward to catch the people responsible.

Peregrines often rear three to four young in a brood and the orphans have been placed in two separate nests which only had two chicks each.

At both sites, the orphaned chicks were accepted into the nests without any problems, the RSPB said.

James Leonard, investigations officer at the RSPB, said: "It was great to see the chicks so readily accepted at both nest sites.

"This technique has been successfully used before and, as it appears that adult peregrines cannot count, we are confident they will continue providing food for all the chicks."

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