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Gary Martin | all galleries >> Galleries >> British birds > Kestrel
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19-JUN-2010

Kestrel

Latin name: Falco tinnunculus
Family

A familiar sight with its pointed wings and long tail, hovering beside a roadside verge. Kestrels have been recently declining as a result of habitat degradation due to continuing intensive management of farmland and so it is included on the Amber List. They have adapted readily to man-made environments and can survive right in the centre of cities.

Kestrels are found in a wide variety of habitats, from moor and heath, to farmland and urban areas. The only places they do not favour are dense forests, vast treeless wetlands and mountains. They are a familiar sight, hovering beside a motorway, or other main road. They can often be seen perched on a high tree branch, or on a telephone post or wire, on the look out for prey.

What they eat: Small mammals and birds

(Info courtesy of www.rspb.org.uk)

Canon EOS 1D
1/125s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 20-Jul-2011 10:54
I regularly see a Kestral on the cliff edge in Dunbar, East Lothian. It hovers above the steep grassy slopes which lead to the sea edge.