Two birds of prey stolen from Cornish rescue centre

One of two birds of prey stolen from a rescue centre has been found, the owner of the centre has said.

Keepers at the Cornish Birds of Prey Centre CIC said a gyr falcon and a striated caracara were taken between 17:00 GMT on Thursday and 07:00 on Friday.

The gyr falcon, also known as Arizona, was found at the side of the road opposite the layby at Winnards Perch, Cornwall, on Saturday.

Kelly Grigg, the owner of the centre at Winnard’s Perch, said the bolt and padlock to one of its aviaries had been “hit with force”.

She said she thought whoever had stolen the birds would have had to have known the centre “inside out”, as they avoided all CCTV cameras on site.

Devon and Cornwall Police has appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

In a post to social media, the centre said it was grateful to everyone who had called to report seeing the gyr falcon and to the cars “that came to a stand still” so they could cross the road to catch it.

Ms Grigg said she noticed the gate was open to one of the aviaries when she started doing her daily checks on Friday morning – which is when she realised two birds were missing.

She said another lock appeared to have been tampered with “using a crowbar or similar tool”, but to no avail.

“All I want is the birds back safe and sound and I will do everything in my power to get them home safely,” she added.