Trossachs Bird of Prey Trail, The Trossachs Stirling, United KingdomKestrelhttp://birdofpreytrail.com05:02 06-Oct-2011
KESTREL
When is it here? All year roun
How easy is it to see? Fairly easy. Kestrels can often be seen hovering over road-side verges which means you can see them from your car.
How big is it? Small.
What colour is it? Males have a chestnut back with a black wingband. Their heads are steely grey, as are their tails, which also have a black band.
Females and juveniles have ginger-brown heads and tails.
What might I confuse it with? It’s about the same size as a merlin, but their habits are very different. Merlins dash across the ground very low down. Kestrels prefer to hover or look down on prey from the vantage point of a tree or telegraph pole.
Where are they? You have a chance of seeing a kestrel almost anywhere on the Trail, but they’re probably most common around the agricultural land of the Carse.
What are they normally doing? The most common thing you’ll see a kestrel doing is hovering. They appear motionless in the air, their wings working frantically, as they search the ground below for their favourite prey of small rodents. If they see anything, they’ll drop like a stone.
You might also see them sitting in trees and peering at the ground. Much less effort than hovering!
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