Will falcon's seaside stop-off help or hinder its survival?

Rare sightings of a red-footed falcon sparked excitement this month with birdwatchers and photographers swooping to catch a glimpse.

The young bird of prey touched down in Lowestoft, not far from the Gull Wing Bridge, despite the fact it should have been on its way to Africa for the winter.

Not too dissimilar to a first-born flying the nest, the disoriented juvenile has since disappeared, with speculation it may have crossed the border into Norfolk.

But did its Suffolk pitstop help or hinder its chances of survival - and should we be offended or buoyed by its sudden departure?

"It is long gone, which is a fantastic thing," said nature photographer Harry Read, an ornithologist and ecologist who lives in Bungay.

"I am surprised it stayed so long and I was more concerned that the longer it stayed, it might have suggested that there was something really wrong with it.

"But it is a good thing that it is left because that means it feels strong enough and able enough to leave the site that you could argue it's become really comfortable in."

Read said that, unless it was ringed – or fitted with a uniquely numbered ring for tracking purposes – we will never know where its journeys will end.

"It was near a busy road but I don't think it was struck by any vehicle, as far as we know it has moved on to a different area," he added.

"There was a report of a red-footed falcon in Norfolk, but it's very unlikely that it was the same bird – but it was a juvenile red-footed falcon, so it could have been."

Jon Carter, from the British Trust for Ornithology in Thetford, said it was "tempting to assume" that the falcon seen in Norfolk "may well have been the same bird".

"It may well be that the falcon was in good enough shape to head off and continue its migration south, or simply it has relocated somewhere else more typical of its usual habitat," he said.

"Ultimately, it is highly unlikely to stay in the UK indefinitely, and if it is in good health it should make its way to the continent and then on to Africa before too long."

The falcon, spotted on Rotterdam Road, in Lowestoft, is likely to have hatched this year and would have been heading to Namibia or Zambia, if not for easterly winds blowing it off course.

Red-footed falcons, of which there are up to 400,000 globally, often migrate in flocks and roost together during migration and wintering season.

They feed on insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds and they are native to Eastern Europe and Central Asia - so seeing one in the UK is rare.

But its fleeting fame on the East coast was not necessarily a good thing, said nature lover Mike Warner.

"To get it to ground, for that amazing photograph, some of the photographers were going to pet shops and buying insects to put on the ground for the falcon," he said.

"This was immoral and wrong – the bird needed to scavenge for itself and look for food and figure things out for itself and return to where it should be.

"Some photos on social media were of the bird with a cricket that is rare in this country and is commonly used for food in the pet industry."

Photographer Read said he, too, had been made aware of some people feeding it "pet shop crickets or some kind of insects".

He added that he "completely" agreed with Warner and stressed it was "absolutely essential" the young falcon figured out how to hunt for itself.

"Those insects will not contain the correct nutrition for a wild bird, although it's closer to its natural food, it's still come from an unnatural source," he said.

"Given an easy option, lots of birds adapt their behaviour, but feeding a wild bird or animal and making it habituated to take food off people isn't a good thing to do.

"The welfare of an animal should always come first - a photograph shouldn't ever be prioritised over the welfare of a wild animal."

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