Day of the Kestrel

Leaving between dawn and sunrise, produced a family of Red Fox (two adults and a juvenile), and two Lesser Black-backed Gull heading SW over the Pit Tip on my way to the Mill Lakes. A male Kestrel was over Farmer Fox's Cow Field, two Chiffchaff - one a singing male - were together at Dawson's Corner, and a juvenile red-crowned Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the large oak of the farmyard near the western entrance and viewed from the Sustrans path.

At the Mill Lakes an adult Black-headed Gull was circling, and a flock of around ten more were over to the north-east. The number of geese and swans seemed to be back down to normal, with quick counts of 15 Mute Swan and 16 Greater Canada Goose. Two adult Great Crested Grebe were on the lake, one of them with the streaky juvenile in tow. Two Reed Warbler were calling in the willows around the Reedbed Boardwalk, and another male Kestrel was hunting over Reedbed. At the Leen Pastures two more were seen, including one of the juveniles that landed on Railway Line. The morning sun allowed for some brief footage of the juvenile hunting over the Golf Course.

Heading back via the back path produced a good view of a female Sparrowhawk flying low, towards me across the Horse Paddock at Broadvalley Stables and up into the hedgerows behind me. This was briefly followed by a lot of commotion from all the smaller birds using the hedgerow for cover. The Sparrowhawk emerged a minutes later, seemingly unsuccessful, and flew up over the rooftops of the nearby houses. Three Mistle Thrush were on the overhead wires at the entrance to Bestwood Quarry, but I didn't have time to venture in to the quarry itself.

Yet another male Kestrel was hunting over the Parkside Pasture, this time with one or two missing secondaries, and the same bird was later seen over the Horse Paddock by the Adventure Playground. To finish the morning off, I had my first Treecreeper of the summer on a large tree trunk along Woodman's Path, which also permitted some reasonable footage.