Hunt for Gerry the golden eagle after he goes missing during Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Rescue Centre display

THE hunt is on for a golden eagle after it was swept away in high winds during a display in Ringwood.

Gerry was doing his first morning display yesterday (Wednesday) at Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Rescue Centre, when he was blown off course and he has still not returned.

"We were able to track him to the Hightown Lakes area and the roads nearby," said Liberty's owner Lynda Bridges. "However, overnight he's managed to chew off the telemetry tracker system we have on him!

"We do know, however, he's not gone far; he's somewhere in the local area," she added.

"He's not a hunting bird, he's not been trained to hunt and has shown no past interested in hunting anything, so the other wildlife should be safe," she continued.

"He's going to be up somewhere high – in a tree or on a roof somewhere."

A post on Liberty's Facebook page added: "He is bigger than any wild bird you will find in our countryside; over three times the size of a buzzard, he has huge yellow feet and a yellow beak!"

Lynda added: "The more publicity we can get the better and the more people that can help... it's the public's help that's going to this bird back for us."