This is Polly the Peregrine Falcon who arrived at Poolbeg Station on Monday 3rd July. I’m calling her Polly as I understand her to be female, having done some detective work with those who are in the know.

Our initial approach to her was cautious, fearing she might take flight. Some photographs were hastily taken with a camera phone. However, these pictures were taken at a distance of some thirty feet and we knew they would be of poor quality.

However, a colleague had just returned from holiday and guess what he had in his car, a crate of wine from Bordeaux? No, no; he had a 5 megapixel digital camera.After a few photos were taken we realised that this bird wasn’t for budging.

Our intrepid cameraman edged closer and closer and got some really good photos. Some snaps were taken as close as twelve feet, which led us to the conclusion that Polly was unable to fly, or was unwell.

After an inordinate amount of detective work and many phone calls it was established that Polly was in fact a fledgling. I phoned RTE’s ‘Mooney Goes Wild’, but unfortunately it was a case of ‘leave your message after the tone’. I then phoned ‘Birdwatch Ireland’. They couldn’t help but suggested I contact the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

I’m getting the run-around here, I thought to myself. However a lady at the DSPCA said that “they were very busy at present” but if we could entice Polly into a cardboard box they would arrange for her collection. I emailed some photos of Polly to them. On Thursday July 6th Polly was into her fourth day and it was obvious her flight was severely restricted.

She fluttered from the rubbish skip to an oil drum throughout her days with us, a journey of some twenty yards. I noticed her drinking some rainwater from the ridge of the oil drum and promptly got her a bowl of fresh water.

The canteen staff was great and very helpful at this stage. They gave me some leftovers from morning tea break, bits of sausage and rasher and pudding. I knew that falcons ate rodents such as mice and rats so I knew she was into meat. I left the breckie out for her one evening and it was gone the next morning. I don’t know if Polly ate it, or maybe the local cats had a ball.

On Friday July 7th Polly was into her fifth day and that’s when she bade us farewell. She was sitting on the rubbish skip at 1.30 and when I went to check on her again at 3 she had gone. Had she gained enough energy to fly away to pastures new? Or had she finally succumbed to injury and died in the bushes nearby?

Well, the answer is a happy one, I’m glad to relate. On Monday 10th July she was spotted on the roof of the Poolbeg Station by some vigilant shift workers. A man who has a keen interest in birds and falcons in particular rang the relevant wildlife agency. They arrived promptly and took Polly away to be cared for.

I understand she had been scorched, probably by heat from the chimney stacks or some other hot area of the Power Station. She’s being well looked after now and we hope to see her again when she’s released and fully recovered from her injuries.

Photo by Camillus Ryan