Peregrine falcon takes flight after Doncaster shotgun attack

A peregrine falcon found with shotgun wounds on a school playing field has been released back into the wild.

The bird of prey was found on 11 December at Littlemoor Infant Academy in Askern, Doncaster, with a broken collar bone.

It also had two shotgun pellets in its right leg.

The raptor was cared for at the Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in North Yorkshire and later released at a nature reserve near Selby.

The peregrine was named Mary by centre rehabilitator Jean Thorpe, who said it was initially unable to fly due to the extent of its injuries.

"When I took Mary in she was scruffy and scared," Ms Thorpe said.

"I was dismayed because she looked dirty and thin."

After specialist care from a vet, Mary was kept in a large "intensive care" box to stop her from flying and to allow the fracture to heal.

After a month of recovery, Ms Thorpe said it was "spectacular" to see the bird take to the skies at North Duffield nature reserve.

Mary, as the bird is known, was found injured in December

Peregrine falcons are a protected species, however the RSPB said it was difficult to trace offenders as the birds were often shot or trapped in remote areas.

Ms Thorpe said she had lost track of the number of birds she had nursed back to health.

"You get really angry because it's illegal, we're talking a wildlife crime here," she said.

"It needs investigating and these people know they shouldn't be doing it."

Almost a quarter of the 29 attacks on peregrine falcons in England in the past five years have been in Yorkshire, the RSPB said.

In Yorkshire, four have been found shot and three poisoned during that period.