A few days ago, we suddenly heard something moving loudly above the ceiling in our kitchen. It was so loud I was absolutely convinced it had to be a rat. We could clearly hear scratching claws against the ceiling and heavy footsteps, so I imagined it must be a very big rat.
While cooking, I was both nervous and curious, worried that if the ceiling collapsed, the rat might fall out. I also kept wondering why it wasn’t afraid of humans at all. It kept running around loudly all day, extremely energetic.
When my husband got home, he also heard the noise and immediately said it must be a dog. I was like, “What!? Are you serious?” We live in a high-rise condo, so I couldn’t imagine how a dog could end up in the ceiling. But he was very confident and even sent a video to the residents’ group chat asking if anyone had lost a dog, saying it might be trapped above our ceiling.
No one responded, so he called the building management. They said it was most likely a rat, not a dog, and would send someone to check. But he still wasn’t fully convinced.
Later, another resident replied saying it was probably a rat, not a dog. Only then did he finally believe it, and he looked pretty disappointed.
That night, we carried out cardboard boxes to sell at a recycling machine, but it was closed. My husband checked other nearby machines on the application, but they were all full, so we had to bring everything back.
On the way back, I noticed a shelving unit that looked fine and had the idea of taking it home. My husband ended up carrying it back with me. He joked that this must be the most unforgettable birthday ever, with rats in the house and his wife bringing home random furniture.
To be honest, after washing and scrubbing the wooden shelf we brought home, I actually thought it looked quite fine. I had been planning to buy a similar bedside shelf anyway, so it ended up feeling like a lucky find.
The next day, no one from the community came, so we decided to call the pest control company we had contacted earlier.
The creature was still running around loudly all day, just as energetic as before.
Before the technician arrived, we cleared all seasonings and food items from the kitchen, just in case something fell during the process.
When the technician arrived, he set glue traps. Within five minutes, the creature got caught. But it turned out not to be a rat at all, but a very large bird. Because of its size, it couldn’t be removed through the usual ceiling access panel, which is normally only used for rats.
They had to enlarge the opening, which is something technicians don’t usually do. The technician also said he was afraid the bird might bite him.
At that moment, I still hadn’t seen it and had no idea how dangerous it could be, only worrying about how we would remove the glue safely.
When it was finally brought down, we realized it was a common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus/ 红隼), a Class II nationally protected wildlife species in China (国家二级重点保护动物).
What started as a simple pest problem suddenly became a serious case involving protected wildlife, so we had to contact forestry authorities.
At first, the officials didn’t seem very eager to come. They asked us to send multiple photos and details, including our address, but didn’t clearly say when they would arrive.
While waiting, we let the technician go and paid him. I was very worried about the bird and tried to remove the glue and give it water and raw meat, not knowing when help would arrive.
About an hour later, the official finally came and took the bird away. We were lucky it was still alive. He said that if it had died before he arrived, it would have become a much more serious issue, and it would have needed urgent veterinary care.
They placed it in a box and took it away for treatment.
Another day of “ceiling wildlife management” was over.
The funniest part is that my husband later said he was glad we got to “do a good deed” by helping rescue the bird.
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