1,000 falcons saved after KZN hailstorm

In what is believed to the biggest single-species rescue in SA, more than 1,000 falcons battered by hail on Saturday night were transported to safety in bakkies and trailers.

The birds, mostly Amur falcons that had migrated from the Amur River between Russia and China to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands, were injured while at a roosting site in Mooi River.

The injured birds were taken to the Free Me KZN Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Howick.

The centre's Wade Whitehead told TimesLIVE that a security company in the Mooi River area first noticed the plight of the birds following the storm on Saturday night.

"They notified the Mooi River SPCA. They collected the birds for us and brought them all to us by 11.30 that night. They loaded the birds into the back of bakkies with canopies and transported them to us."

About 1,090 birds were admitted for treatment.

"There were 713 birds killed below the roosting site. Quite a few of the birds we received were badly injured," said Whitehead.

Following assessment and treatment, 400 birds were released on Monday, while a further 600 were expected to be released on Tuesday. Whitehead added that 70 birds admitted to the clinic had unfortunately died.

"They are literally on the verge of migrating back, about one to two weeks away. That's why we are trying to release as many as possible," said Whitehead.

"We are working flat out to release as many as we can. We are winning. We are very happy with the progress. We think this is probably the biggest single-species rescue in SA," he said.