Rescue & Rehabilitation

Rescue

The Kārearea Falcon Trust operates as a bird rescue, rehabilitation, restoration and release centre in the heart of the Marlborough region. We take sick, injured, and orphaned birds from across Te Waipounamu, the South Island.

The centre is run with help from staff, volunteers, donors and the community.

Most of the birds we take into care are brought to us by caring members of our community, with the remainder from the Department of Conservation or other conservation organisations.

Rehabilitation

Our aviary team use their time and expertise to rehabilitate sick, injured, and orphaned kārearea, ultimately seeing these precious birds returned to the wild.

Rehab Success Stories

Bill - adult male kārearea

May 2024 Bill was rescued by the Clifford family after hitting a house window on Old Renwick Road, Marlborough. He suffered a concussion and had snapped the end of his beak off, preventing him from eating without help.

Bill spent a couple of days in an ICU unit with staff providing around the clock care while he was in critical condition. Once stabilised, he was x-rayed at Springlands Vet to check for any other damage and graduated to a soft crate with a tail cover to protect his feathers from damage as his recovery continued.

When he was self-feeding and getting more lively, he moved into our rehabilitation aviary. Initially we were not sure if his beak was going to regrow. It was possible the impact might have damaged the ‘growth plate’ at the base of his beak that produces the keratin, much like the quick of our fingernails. 

But to our delight, there has been slow and steady growth. The challenge was that some parts of his beak were growing back faster than others… resulting in a ‘falcon underbite’! To remedy this, Manager Holly and Trustee Phil regularly gave Bill a face manicure, carefully reshaping his beak using a handheld dremel (and hood to keep Bill calm) so the beak maintained the correct shape as it regrew.

With the ability to be able to hunt again due to the recovery of his beak, he was able to be released into the wild near to where he was rescued several months prior. Natural wear and tear during hunting and feeding will continue to maintain his beak shape. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any sightings of him. Good luck out there Bill!

Naming: Bill was named by our manager Holly Turner, due to his ‘bill’ injury

Bands: Silver H-36770 / Yellow F42

Bill was rescued by: the Clifford family

Bill was adopted by: Blenheim Natural Learners Co-op (Silver), Kerri Fearn (Bronze)

Found an injured kārearea & need help?

What do you do?

For both yours and the bird's sake, keep handling to a bare minimum.

Injured kārearea should be placed in a cardboard box or cat-box as soon as possible. Place an old towel or T-shirt in the box to keep the falcon secure. Keep the inside of the box dark while maintaining plenty of airflow.

Keep the falcon out of direct sunlight. It will be highly stressed and will want to defend itself, especially with its talons – excessive handling can hurt both you and the bird.

Letting the bird grab hold of an old towel with its feet, then wrapping the bird's wings in the towel to pick it up and put it in the box, can be an effective way of ensuring the feet are kept out of harm's way. Use both hands when picking a bird up and, if possible, get someone to help you put it safely into the box.

Once secured in a suitable box, take the injured bird to your local DOC office immediately.