Search is on for Chanel the missing peregrine falcon

People in the area have been asked to keep an eye out for Chanel in their gardens

A worried falconer is appealing for help to find Chanel, a three-year-old bird of prey missing since Sunday.

Mick Smith, 76, says Chanel, a peregrine falcon, flew off from his partner's back lawn in Brantham, Suffolk, despite being tethered to a block.

She was not wearing a GPS tag and Mr Smith is "walking miles" trying to spot her.

Chanel can hunt in the wild, but he says it is now "well past" her usual feeding time. He is now urging locals to keep an eye out for her in their gardens or on roofs.

When she disappeared, Mr Smith, who lives near Ely in Cambridgeshire, had been visiting his partner with his two peregrine falcons.

It is the birds' hunting season and he took them with him to monitor their feeding.

They were not wearing GPS tags because he was not going to fly them.

Mick Smith is "walking miles" to try to find Chanel the peregrine falcon

"They were tethered out on their blocks on the back lawn on Sunday and I just casually glanced across, one was OK and the other had disappeared," said Mr Smith.

"I immediately put it on Facebook and was impressed by the contact I had from local people and we've been searching ever since."

Mr Smith said there had been numerous reports of Chanel, but she has not responded to any calls or lures.

In the UK, falconers must have licences to fly their birds and Mr Smith explained his only covered flying in Cambridgeshire.

This was another reason why Chanel was not wearing a GPS tag, he said.

Speaking on Monday, he said: "The bullet I've got to bite is that I've tied what's called a falconer's knot four times every day for the last 50 years and something went wrong with my tying it yesterday because that should not have come undone."

He believes Chanel still has her leash attached, which might get caught in trees.

"People should look for flocks of crows, rooks and seagulls because they don't like birds of prey and they will mob them mercilessly to get them to fly out of their area," he added.