OK, in the new spirit of this blog — which is to put out more frequent, less involved and obscure posts — I thought I’d update you all on the kestrel situation. These pretty predators are my favourites, and this year is shaping up well for spotting and photographing a couple as they rear their brood.

First off, though, I have to report that the perching tree where I used to capture lots of nice photos (above) is gone. During the winter it was burnt and the remains flattened — a pity but understandable, as a thriving rabbit warren had established itself among its roots.

But despite this, it was good to see a couple of Kestrels scouting about way back in early October. I came up the hill one morning and there was the female, sitting in the customary nesting hole and looking about expectantly.

And then the male arrived, bearing a gift: the still-twitching body of a lizard.

After he left, presumably to find her some more grub, she also left the nest hole — possibly to consume her meal without me clicking away from not too far away.

So I left, extremely chuffed that the tree — known by local naturalists and birdy tragics as ‘the block of flats’ because so many birds nest there — would have some raptor tenants this year.

Tune in next time for the next exciting instalment!