American Kestrel finds temporary home in Winnipeg city hall

Animal services officers responded to Winnipeg City Hall in Manitoba, Canada, to eject a small bird of prey that found its way to a stairwell.

City of Winnipeg Animal Services said the young American Kestrel was spotted on the stairs inside the Susan A. Thompson Building and officers rushed to the scene.

A video shared by animal services shows the kestrel being caught in a net.

“We don’t think it was in that that stairwell for a long time because so many people use the stairwells at these buildings,” Leland Gordon, general manager of Winnipeg Animal Services.

The bird was examined at Pembina Veterinary Hospital and subsequently transferred to the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Lisa Tretiak, president and co-founder of the rehabilitation center, said the kestrel is “what we would consider in an immature or teenage stage where they’re learning to fly, but they’re not the best at it, and they’re still learning how to hunt.”

Tretiak said the kestrel will be released back into the wild once it has gained some weight.