Kestrel

🔍 Overview

A familiar falcon, the Kestrel hovers vigilantly over Sussex fields and roadsides, searching for small prey.

🪶 Key Identification Features

Size: Medium raptor (34–38 cm)
Plumage: Reddish-brown back, grey head (male)
Distinctive Marks: Hovering behaviour
Bill: Hooked
Tail: Long, fanned
Flight: Stays stationary in wind

🗺️ Habitat & Distribution

Open farmland, roadside verges, heathland — look near Cissbury Ring or highway edges.

🎶 Voice & Behaviour

Repeated choking “klee-klee.” Hovers 5–20 m above ground.

🍴 Diet

Voles, small mammals, large insects.

📸 Birding Tip

Position near open fields; best seen in spring hovering or perched visibly.