Graeme Loh encouraged people to follow the example of a Palmerston couple, who this week caught one of the endangered native birds of prey trying to kill a chicken in their henhouse.
The couple caught the falcon, placed it in a box and called Doc.
A vet found the bird had a punctured eye, and so, since Wednesday, Mr Loh and Dunedin Doc staff have been nursing it back to health.
Yesterday, the adult female enjoyed its first decent meal since it was apprehended - a dead rock pigeon served up, rather appropriately, in Doc's Stuart St tearoom.
Mr Loh said the injury probably explained why the bird, which would normally feed on flying prey, or mice and rats, had turned to a hen house for food. Without binocular vision, its hunting abilities would be impaired.
It was not unusual at this time of year for younger falcons to try their luck in built-up areas, as the colder weather reduced their natural food source.
