A WORKING bird of prey which survived being hit by a car was reunited with its owner - thanks to eagle-eyed Argus readers.

Tess, a saker falcon, was handed into the Wowls bird sanctuary near Llangibby after being hit by a car on the M4 near the Celtic Manor, Newport.

It took six weeks to nurse her back to health, then the 12-month-old bird was featured, with sanctuary owner Dave Cooksey, in the Argus, in a bid to find her owner .

A few days later Geoff Pritchard called Newport's Dock Way landfill site to say that his bird had been lost.

Mr Pritchard, of Falcon Bird Control, provides birds of prey to landfill sites.

Tess had been scaring off scavengers like crows and seagulls with a little too much enthusiasm.

Mr Pritchard said: "We lost her when she wouldn't give up chasing a crow.

"We use birds of prey at landfills to act as deterrents to scavengers but she obviously got a bit carried away.

He said she would normally be tracked by means of a radio transmitter she was fitted with.

"She was moulting at the time and the transmitter must have come out with a tail feather. "I must admit I was very surprised to see her again."

Mr Pritchard, from Church Street, Bargoed, who owns more than 15 falcons, did not see the Argus article on Friday, July 23, but plenty of people did.

"I was away from my phone over the weekend and I came back to find about 10 messages," said the 40-year-old.

"Everyone kept saying 'that's your bird in the paper', so I gave the sanctuary a ring.

"I'm very grateful to Wowls and the Argus for getting her back."

Meanwhile Tess, fully recovered from her ordeal, is back on active duty working at another landfill site at Lamby Way, Cardiff.