8:10am Wednesday 22nd July 2009
A HUGE bird of prey that has been missing since April has been returned to its rightful home.
Sue, a one-year-old male European Eagle Owl, escaped from an aviary at Stockley Farm in April as she was being prepared to have her photo taken.
She was found in Congleton last week by Graham Bessant from Gauntlet Birds of Prey Eagle and Vulture Park in Knutsford and stayed at the sanctuary before being returned to the farm.
Eagle owls, which are commonly held in captivity in England, are the largest species of owl in the world.
In the wild they mainly hunt mammals such as rabbits and hares, but are capable of hunting animals as large as Roe Deer Graham said he found Sue after receiving a call from the owners of a chicken farm in Arclid.
Jane Docksey, from Stockley Farm, said Sue was returned to the farm on Sunday.
“We knew it was our bird because it had an ID ring on the leg,” she said.
“We had hundreds and hundreds of calls and emails about her disappearance, it has been non-stop.
“According to these calls it has been living in people’s back garden, someone even said it had flown down their chimney and was in their front room.
“You wouldn’t believe it, Sue seems to have been all over the country.”
Sue – who has a wingspan of about 5ft (1.5m) and weighs 2.5kg – belongs to Claire Stafford despite being an integral part of the display birds team at the farm.
Claire said she was over the moon to have Sue back.
“She was quite thin, a little bit battered and bruised but alright other than that,” she added.
•Stockley Farm is open seven days a week from Saturday, July 18 until Sunday, September 6 from 11am until 5pm.
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