A young kestrel flew free inside the walls of Coucy-le-Château

Volunteers from Picardie Faune Sauvage let a five-month-old common kestrel go at the château on October 21. It had been found as a nestling near Beauvais airport.

By Tazzora Editorial TeamVerified · Source: L'Aisne NouvelleOct 21, 2026 · 1 min read

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A common kestrel in flight with its wings spread — Illustrative photo of a common kestrel in flight. This is not the bird released at Coucy-le-Château. Giles Laurent / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, volunteers from Picardie Faune Sauvage released a young common kestrel in the heart of the château at Coucy-le-Château. L'Aisne Nouvelle reported the release that evening.

The bird was five months old. It had been recovered as a nestling near Beauvais airport. The paper noted that children do not see a release like this every day. The published account does not name the people who opened the carrier, and it does not say where the kestrel went next. The confirmed news is the release itself: a young falcon, cared for since it was a nestling, returned to the air inside the fortress.

For the classroom

L'Aisne Nouvelle reported that on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, volunteers from Picardie Faune Sauvage released a young common kestrel in the heart of the château at Coucy-le-Château, in northern France. The bird was five months old. It had been found as a nestling near Beauvais airport and cared for until it could fly free. The paper said this is not a sight children see every day. The report does not say how far the kestrel flew after the release, or who held the bird. What is known is that a young falcon, rescued near an airport, was let go inside the old fortress.