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Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

2 photos

1 photographer

·Common · 1 pts

Iconic hoverer above motorway verges and open ground.

2 community photos of Kestrel on Things With Wings. Top-rated shots often use around 1/400ss shutter, 300mm.

Species Profile

Green List (Least Concern) – stable UK population

Lifespan: 12–17 years in the wild, with some individuals recorded over 20 years
Size & Weight: 32–35 cm long, wingspan 65–72 cm; females 190–240 g, males 140–180 g
Habitat: Open and semi-open landscapes including farmland, grassland, moorland, coastal cliffs, and urban areas with suitable perches for hunting.
UK Distribution: Found throughout the UK as a year-round resident; breeding populations supplemented by continental visitors in autumn and winter, with numbers peaking in winter.
Diet: Primarily small mammals such as field voles, wood mice, and shrews; also takes small birds, insects, and occasionally reptiles.
Prey: Field voles, wood mice, bank voles, shrews, sparrows, skylarks, grasshoppers, and occasionally lizards
Predators: Golden eagles, peregrine falcons, rough-legged buzzards, and occasionally tawny owls; eggs and chicks also taken by carrion crows and magpies
Mating Season: March to July
Breeding: Clutch of 3–5 eggs; incubation period 28–31 days; fledging at 27–28 days; typically one brood per year, occasionally two in southern regions
Behaviour: Famous for its characteristic hovering flight while hunting, holding position into the wind with rapid wing beats. Highly adaptable and increasingly common in urban and suburban settings. Solitary or in pairs outside breeding season; males may maintain territories year-round.

Did You Know?

•The kestrel's name comes from its sharp 'kee-kee-kee' call, which sounds like a small bell or 'tinnulus' in Latin
•It is the UK's most common raptor and the only British falcon that regularly hovers while hunting
•Males are distinctly blue-grey on the head and back, while females are rufous-brown with barring throughout
•Kestrels have exceptional eyesight and can detect the heat signature of rodent urine in grass, visible only in ultraviolet light
•They have rapidly colonised urban areas over recent decades, nesting on buildings, bridges, and pylons in city centres

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Shutter

1/400ss

ISO Range

100–800

Aperture

f/f/5.6

Focal Length

300mm

🐦 Kestrel

Bird

🐦 Common Kestrel

Bird