KESTREL

Since the kestrel is our commonest diurnal raptor, it isn’t surprising that the Trust cares for many of these little falcons every year. Many of them are brought to us as ‘abandoned’ chicks or as the result of nest disturbance.

Many are simply starving, sometimes as a result of prolonged periods of bad weather but often due to becoming fouled when hunting their prey in slurry-filled farmyards. As with all of our casualties, a common cause of injury is collisions with road traffic.

Kestrels are good, aggressive patients and 48 out of the last 94 received have been released.