Staff at the Wildlife Center of Virginia are caring for the falcon and will determine if she is releasable after her injuries heal. (PHOTO: Wildlife Center of Va.)
A young falcon that was injured after flying into a downtown Richmond building will never be released back into the wild.
The Wildlife Center of Virginia announced that the peregrine falcon will need surgery to remove one of its eyes.
Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s veterinary director, noted that additional scar tissue was visible in the falcon’s injured eye on Thursday, July 17.
On Monday, July 21, the falcon’s eye had visibly changed; the eye was atrophied and the falcon seemed to be reacting more to light [possibly indicating pain], the center said.
Given the changes in the eye, the falcon’s eye will need to be removed, the doctor determined. Surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 22.
Once the falcon fully heals from the surgery in August, the outreach staff will begin glove-training the falcon to be an educational ambassador.
The rare bird was rescued and placed into a cage on the afternoon of June 19, after employees at the James Center reported the falcon was on the ground.
The bird was filmed walking around on the busy sidewalk during lunch hour. It paced and moved about nervously and appeared to be frantically breathing.
A bowl of water was placed out for the bird, as it took a respite from the crowds and hot sun, under a taxi downtown until an animal control worker rescued it. It was one of two female falcons that had recently taken their first flights from their home on the 21st story walkway at Riverfront Plaza.
