Czart, a falcon living in a nest on the chimney of the Wrotków Heat and Power Plant in Lublin, Wrotka's partner, has died. The bird was most likely poisoned. A collection is underway for the person who will identify the perpetrator of the poisoning.
The devil was found on Friday (April 26) under the chimney, where he had a nest together with the rotifer falcon and raised the young that had just been born. The Lublin Ornithological Society announced the matter on social media. It reported that the falcon was most likely poisoned. Unfortunately, he could not be saved.
The devil was panting, his legs were curled up
As Sylwester Aftyka from the Lublin Ornithological Society said on Radio Lublin, the falcon showed symptoms of poisoning when it was found: it had characteristically curled legs and was panting, and it still had meat in its beak. “I took it to the box. Unfortunately, the falcon died on the way to the vet. Toxicological tests will now be carried out. The case will probably be reported to the police,” Aftyka reported on Radio Lublin.
The devil was said to have been poisoned by a pigeon caught in flight.
It is not known whether Rotika – Devil's falcon partner and their three chicks also ate the poisoned meat, bird observation is ongoing.
The devil was found near the chimney where he had a nest, but unfortunately he could not be savedNew Year's Eve Aftyka / Lublin Ornithological Society
They are collecting a reward for identifying the perpetrator of the falcon's poisoning
On the initiative of Katarzyna Czerniecka, who runs the “Soko OKO” fanpage on Facebook, a fundraising campaign has been launched for a reward for the person or people who will point out the perpetrator of the falcon's poisoning. The goal is PLN 50,000, and on Saturday at noon half of this amount had already been collected.
“The collected funds will be used as a reward for any information that may help identify the criminal and end this terrible practice that has been going on since 2019,” we read in the description of the collection.
Someone is poisoning falcons in Lublin
According to Radio Lublin, this is another case of falcon poisoning in Lublin, probably in the same way Łupek – Czart's father and one of the chicks died. “Toxicological tests of the chick showed poisoning with agents used to kill insects, rats and mice,” the station reported. The chicks were poisoned with the same means in 2019. Then two cubs died, but the female miraculously survived.
The story of falcons moved Poland
We wrote about falcons from Lublin a few days ago. Then Rotka, the Devil's partner, returned to the nest. She was missing for three days, ornithologists suspected that she might have died defending the nest. During the absence of his partner, Czart was the one incubating the eggs at first. To relieve him, the experts took the eggs to continue their incubation artificially. Before Rotifer's return, all the chicks hatched from the eggs and the ornithologists placed them back in the nest.
Main photo source: New Year's Eve Aftyka / Lublin Ornithological Society