birds

widows son

Well-Known Member
Laying out on the hill today after a bit of practice with the rifle, I was glassing a bit of deciduous woodland I shoot a few deer off per year ,on doing this I was watching kestrels 8 of them all adult males ,it was like a training exercise, lifting on the thermals hovering and diving into the ground but not lifting any vermin ,something Ive never seen before well not 8 of them .

I phoned the girl in the RSPB centre and asked her if she knew the reason for this type of behaviour something new to her also, anyone noticed anything similar in there travels.

Every days a school day .
 
Laying out on the hill today after a bit of practice with the rifle, I was glassing a bit of deciduous woodland I shoot a few deer off per year ,on doing this I was watching kestrels 8 of them all adult males ,it was like a training exercise, lifting on the thermals hovering and diving into the ground but not lifting any vermin ,something Ive never seen before well not 8 of them .

I phoned the girl in the RSPB centre and asked her if she knew the reason for this type of behaviour something new to her also, anyone noticed anything similar in there travels.

Every days a school day .

To be honest it sounds like parents teaching their young the trade 'WS'

Martin
 
They are probably getting ready for the kestrel best practice lantra cert.:lol: Thats the theory part next month they will move on to the advanced lantra award and will need to kill stuff.;)
 
In a similar vein, a pair of oyster catchers have just successfully raised four chicks from a nest in a sugar beet field near here.

I was in the workshop one evening when I heard a racket outside and ran out just in time to see both adult oyster catchers lift off the ground like little missiles and set about a marsh harrier flying overhead. For the next five minutes, they harried the harrier and only gave up when it was flying away as fast as it could.

After that, I made a special effort to keep the foxes away until the young had fledged and taken up residence on the ridge of the barn opposite.
 
Am with re"M"inton on that one Bob, teaching young, although I know you said Adults. I rekon if that's the case it's a puzzler!!! :confused:

Rgds, Buck.
 
Cheers gents , they were all adult males when you see young kestrels they all look like females where adult males are rust red across the back and wings , it was something I've never experienced before but very interesting to watch .

When I phoned the RSPB the girl on the phone checked her info on kestrels to no avail.as I said every day is a school day .
 
Cheers gents , they were all adult males when you see young kestrels they all look like females where adult males are rust red across the back and wings , it was something I've never experienced before but very interesting to watch .

When I phoned the RSPB the girl on the phone checked her info on kestrels to no avail.as I said every day is a school day .[
QUOTE]
Hi Widows son
I dont want to seem like I am correcting you but a mature male Kestrel is blue/grey on the wings. I have bred Kestrel years ago and if you just google it on images you will see.
Regards
Paul
 
From what I've seen when it comes to intelligent birds like raptors, corvids etc I don't think there is a fixed 'normal behaviour' is there? They seem to be able to adapt their behaviour to conditions, much like foxes, and if conditions are exceptional then their behaviour can be exceptional too.

Still doesn't explain what/why they were doing what they were doing I know, but I often see single kestrels doing what looks like 'aborted attacks' so I suppose it follows that if for whatever reason there is a high population of them they will all be doing it?!

My completely non-expert guesswork, for what it's worth!

Alex
 
dusk till dawn Sorry it is a male kestrel in the picture I think you'll have to compile a little further research on the subject its either that or the world of ornithology's it all wrong which i very much doubt heres both birds male first


View attachment 7993 View attachment 7994
male female


Two very distinctive colour differences, both in the summer as i described the birds and the colours to the RSPB they also said it was males , Ive been into this game for a while long while i well know the difference in male and female birds, Ive watched them enough as a boy all part of living and working in the countryside most of adult life .
 
dusk till dawn Sorry it is a male kestrel in the picture I think you'll have to compile a little further research on the subject its either that or the world of ornithology's it all wrong which i very much doubt heres both birds male first


View attachment 7993 View attachment 7994
male female


Two very distinctive colour differences, both in the summer as i described the birds and the colours to the RSPB they also said it was males , Ive been into this game for a while long while i well know the difference in male and female birds, Ive watched them enough as a boy all part of living and working in the countryside most of adult life .
Ok what ever you like ? i have also been in the game for a long while. Breeding hawks and falcons for the last 26 years. also if you click on the brown bird picture it said Female Kestrel ? I shall see if I can find some pictures othe the 36 Kestrels I hatched out in 1986 and 1987.
I only hatched out Peregrines and gyr/Peregrines and Goshawks this year. sorry no Kestrels.
regards
Paul
 
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