Baby falcon freed from gutter as parents harass German rescuers

A peregrine falcon chick that fell from a German church tower and landed in a high gutter won a second lease of life after firefighters rescued the baby bird.

The approximately month-old bird of prey had fallen from its nest in the city of Mönchengladbach and come to rest on the nave when the fire brigade was alerted on Friday.

The bird's anxious parents circling overhead dived repeatedly at the rescuers during the operation. These included local conservation volunteers who were finally able to reunite the chick with its siblings in the nest.

A breeding and rearing box for the falcons has been located in the tower and monitored for many years, the conservationists in the western German city told dpa.