The image is a mix of green, rusty brown and yellow tones found on the grasslands in Bushy Park. There's a flat-topped ant mount in the centre of the scene with a fledgling kestrel perched, right-centre of the scene, with it's back to the camera but looking over it's shoulder so that the facial features are visible. This is the moment that I first saw the two young kestrels leave their nest tree about twenty metres away. They didn't fly far and after a short while exploring the ground and flying to nearby hawthorn trees, they returned to the nest tree for safety and to be provisioned by their parents. Two other nest sites have young branching, the stage before they fledge and take their first proper flights. It's an exciting time of year! Here's the RSPB's description of a kestrel: Both males and females have pale undersides with black speckles. Males have a slate-grey head and uppertail with a single black band at the tip. Females are browner all over, with bars all along the uppertail
Both males and females have dark ‘tear’ marks extending below each eye. Wing tips are more pointed than a Sparrowhawk’s. Longer tail than other falcons, with a black band at the end. Fanned out while hovering. The beak is yellow and black. Legs are yellow. They are between 32 and 35cm in length.
First To Fledge #ShareMondays2025
What a privilege to see the first 2 young #kestrels #fledge last week in #BushyPark 😊 Others have just started branching now! #nature #birding #wildlife @theroyalparks.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @ldnwildlifetrust.bsky.social