Caoimhe Laird Phelan is pleading for the chook, a kind of starling, to be rescued from Terminal One in Dublin Airport as she believes it has been there for over 40 days.
“It is breeding season, it is springtime, he should be flying from tree to tree collecting nesting materials so they can have babies, not wandering around a terminal confused, looking for scraps,” she stated.
“Being trapped indoors with nowhere to escape is incredibly stressful for a wild bird. He is already in a panic as he is constantly flying up towards the sky windows to find an escape.
The starling is believed to have been trapped in Terminal One in Dublin Airport since March 8
“He doesn’t know that the terminal he is in is on the third floor, and in order to get out of the building he will have to fly down two flights of stairs to get to a door at a boarding gate.
“This is something he could never figure out as these doors are opened intermittently with the sole purpose of letting passengers out to board a plane
“Airports are not their natural habitat, and do not produce worms and bugs for them to eat. The starling won’t find the food and water it needs.
“I was flying last Friday, and I noticed a skinny starling doing laps around Terminal One. I asked a few members of staff, and nobody seemed too bothered about his presence or initiating a rescue.
“I had a feeling he was there for a while, so I took a few clips and made a video telling his story and posted it online.
“It has been gaining traction and I have learned that he was first spotted there on March 8. As of today, that means he has been in there for 42 days,” she added.
Caoimhe hopes Dublin airport takes “responsibility to put proper procedures in place for when wildlife is trapped within its walls”.
Kildare Wildlife Rescue stated it has acquired a number of enquiries concerning the trapped chook.
“We have received multiple reports from people who have seen a video of this starling online,” it stated.
“The airport was not in touch with us, but even if they were, unfortunately there would be very little we could do to help in this case.
“As the starling can fly in a big open space with high ceilings, it would not be possible to capture him with a net.
“The usual advice for birds trapped in buildings is to shut down all the lights and open all windows/exits. This needs to be done during daylight hours as the bird would not fly out into the dark.
“We can only assume that the airport would not be able to follow this advice for security and logistical reasons.
“As he has been there for weeks, we can at the very least be reassured that he is getting access to food and water somewhere – either intentionally being fed by staff or travellers, or he is able to find food and water on his own.
“We are contacting Dublin Airport ourselves and will be happy to talk to them in more detail and look into potential options if they reply to us.
“The situation is far from ideal; we hope that sooner or later he will be able to find his way out,” it added.
Gillian Bird from the DSPCA, added that it might be tough to take away the chook from the airport.
“The problem with starlings is they tend to find ways in, whatever way they go. At the moment, what could’ve happened is that the bird could’ve built a nest and laid some eggs,” she stated.
“Some baby chicks may even hatch soon so it’s very difficult.
“What we’d say to someone who has a bird trapped in their building is to turn off all the lights, open the doors, put some seed just outside and leave the bird alone.
“But what I’m seeing is the bird is trapped in the terminal building that has loads of roof lights so turning off the lights would be impossible because it’s such a busy area. The bird is never going to be left alone.”
Dublin Airport has been contacted for remark.
