ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center will release the first Merlin to have been successfully raised in a rehabilitation setting in Virginia.
According to officials, on Thursday, September 11, at 4:30 p.m., this Merlin will be taking to the skies for the very first time.
The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center says when this patient first arrived at the center back in early July, after the tree it was nesting in was cut down, no one was quite sure what they were dealing with.
Between the guesses of biologists, veterinarians, falconers, rehabbers, and their own seasoned staff, the center reports hearing everything from American Kestrels to Peregrine Falcons. Then, the most surprising suggestion of all: a Merlin…