Peregrine falcon with missing wing feathers rescued from the river

WILLIAMSPORT – Pennsylvania State Game officials knew the young peregrine falcon that recently hatched under the Market Street bridge in Williamsport would not be able to survive its first year.

Underdeveloped wing feathers meant it couldn’t fly and with the river just below, it would most likely starve in the nest or drown when it attempted its first flight.

With a large storm moving in, Dan Brauning, Mario Giazzon and Sean Murphy, of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, tried to get the bird off the bridge. But the frightened peregrine wouldn’t go near Brauning, who was lowered to the nest in a PennDOT bucket truck.

In light of the impending storm, Brauning, wildlife diversity division chief for the game commission, was forced to pull out and leave the bird behind. But then the inevitable happened, the bird fell from the nest into the raging water below.

Giazzon and Murphy saw the young peregrine in the water and went in after it with a kayak. They found the bird and kept it safe until Brauning also arrived and they were able to catch it.

Finally safe, the young bird now is in rehabilitation and will be used by the game commission for educational purposes.

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