
Lewiston animal control officer Rich Burton holds a peregrine falcon after a rescue on Wednesday at the Bates Mill. Submitted photo
LEWISTON — How long does it take for a small group of animal rescuers to capture a peregrine falcon running amok inside an old empty mill?
Six hours. The answer is six hours.

A peregrine falcon rescued from the Bates Mill in Lewiston awaits transport to a sanctuary in Freedom. Misfits Rehab
Local Animal Control Officer Rich Burton captured the dehydrated bird Wednesday with help from a few experts plucked from his Rolodex.
Doreen Salls, facility manager at Bates Mill #5 had contacted Burton to ask for help with the bird, which had apparently chased a pigeon into the building before becoming disoriented inside the vast mill space. Burton estimated that the bird had been trapped inside the mill, away from its normal food and water sources, for four or five days.
Burton’s first order of business was to get in touch with Matthew Grenier of Ethical Wildlife Solutions, who specializes in the capture of raptors. Together, the men set up a mist net in hopes of corralling the runaway falcon.
“Mist nets are very thin and designed with special built in pockets to catch the flying bird,” Burton explained. “The peregrine managed to missile through the nets seven different times. They are one of the fastest birds on earth. We had a 40 foot mist net and a 25 foot mist net set up.”

A rescued peregrine falcon rests inside the coat of Lewiston animal control officer Rich Burton after a rescue on Wednesday at the Bates Mill. Submitted photo
With the bird still eluding capture, the men then called upon Kaileb Turcotte, Grenier’s partner, who was tasked with running a long “steering” pole.
“This is nothing more than a long retractable pole used to scare the bird in a certain direction,” Burton said. “Because Mill #5 is over an acre in size, we needed the falcon to fly the same pattern as we were all getting tired — including the bird.”
Burton had started his attempts to catch the falcon in the wee hours of morning. The operation ground on until nearly 10 a.m. before success was at hand.
“When the bird hit the net for the last time,” Burton said, “I dropped the pull rope and dove on top of the falcon. Matt and Kaileb then worked to cut it free of the net while I kept the bird under control.”
With the falcon safely in hand, the rescuers then reached out to a number of wildlife agencies. Ultimately, Misfits Rehab in Auburn agreed to take in the bird for treatment. The falcon was later taken by Avian Haven in Freedom.
None of those involved in the rescue operation were paid for their efforts.
“We did it to save the bird,” Burton said.

Kaileb Turcotte, left, cradles a peregrine falcon rescued from the Bates Mill on Wednesday in Lewiston. On the right is Matthew Grenier of Ethical Wildlife Solutions, who helped corral the bird. Submitted photo
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