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.

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.