Barry knew that she had been incubating for about three weeks, so was not far off hatching. He had rushed over, collected the bird, and taken her immediately to New Quay Bird Hospital. After an initial examination it was apparent that she was not going to be ready for release for some time. It was not known whether there were still eggs in the nest, or whether the male bird was around to protect them.

I immediately telephoned Dr. Nick Fox to ask what the likelihood was that any eggs would still be viable. It was decided that we should attempt to recover any eggs immediately. The prospects were not good, we had no idea how long the bird had been on the ground, but there was a slight chance. It was 11pm at this point!! At 1.00 am, after a one and a half hour drive and no tree-climbing experience for nearly eight months I found myself 50ft up a huge oak tree in the pitch black, apart from some torchlight provided from gound level by Barry. Thankfully the climb was not as bad as I had imagined it might be, even though I had put on considerable weight over the winter!, and I eventually found myself at the nest. Unfortunately, and rather undeservedly I thought, the predators had beaten us to it and all that remained in the nest were some sizeable pieces of blood-stained eggshell. We both agreed that we were right to have attempted the rescue, despite the outcome. The alternative was to have done nothing and been left wondering.

The tale does have a happy ending of sorts. The female kite which had received expert care and attention from Jean Bryant at Newquay was coming on well. On 22nd April she was transferred to Nick Fox's Falcon Facility where there were some large flight aviaries for her final recuperation.Having fully recovered she was released back at the nest-site on 12th May 2001. The cause of the problem can only be guessed at. It is most likely that she had received a sub-lethal dose of some sort of poisonous compound but alternateively she could have suffered concussion having hit a tree or fence whilst defending the nest from corvids. This female was one of our so-called "bankers", those that can be relied on to produce young consistently from year to year. Born in 1994 at a nest near Lampeter she had settled some 17 km from where she was reared. She had almost certainly nested at this site since at least 1997 and had, in that time, produced seven fledged young. Fingers crossed that she returns to her more-productive self for next year's breeding season.

Our appreciation is extended to all those involved. Firstly the landowner for allowing access under the Foot and Mouth restrictions (we did disinfect thoroughly before going into the field, which was free of livestock), to Jean Bryant for her initial treatment, including re-hydration and force-feeding which unquestionably saved the kite's life, and to Nick Fox as always for expert advice and facilities.
I would also like to thank Barrey Penney for his initial fast response and for staying up well past his bedtime!