The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds #14 – The Kestrel

Leafing through The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests I come to the page on The Kestrel:

It says:

The Kestrel is a falcon, and this bird is often seen poised motionless in the air, or “hovering” as it is called, while it is looking on the ground below for mice and voles.

I saw this one in Italy:

It’s forty years since I first wrote about seeing a Kestrel in my nature notebooks:

I was probably 12 years old when I made this pencil sketch:

Here’s my modern digital photograph:

I definitely need to take some more, preferably with its face visible.