The Kestrel is the most familiar Bird of Prey in Britain , there are approx. 50,000 pairs. The Kestrel is often seen hovering at the sides of Motorways and other roads. It hovers between 10 and 40 Metres from the ground where it can get a good view of its intended prey and then dives to catch it. Its main diet is small mammals voles, mice etc. It needs to have open countryside near by.

The male is smaller than the female and has a grey head and tail and red brown wings the female is much plainer brown with dark bars and speckles. They range between 33 and 39cms long and weigh between 120 and 300g.

They have long pointed wings and a long tail, when they hover the tail fans out.

They do not build their own nest and so take readily to nest boxes which can have wood chips placed in the bottom for them to nest on. They lay between 3 and 6 eggs which hatch after approx 30days and the young only stay in the nest for the first month after that the parents still feed them until they are able to hunt for themselves. Some young may stay with their parents until the following breeding season. They make a “Kee-kee-kee” noise.

Boxes should be placed at least 3M high on the side of a building or tree and placed out of direct sunlight.