This beautiful Kestrel was caught on camera by Richard, our head gardener. Kestrels are small birds of prey often seen hovering by roadside verges, this male bird is regularly seen hunting around the gardens and along the banks of the river.
Males have a blue/grey head, females are all brown. Flying into the wind, its long tail spreads like a fan, hovering before dropping down to catch food.
Feeding mostly on voles, plus shrews, mice, small birds & invertebrates. Their sharp eyes can spot a beetle up to 50 metres away. They don’t make their own nests, but use old nests made by other birds or hollow trees, laying 3 – 6 eggs in April or May.