Keeping the crows at bay

I was looking for kestrels hunting along the grassy banks of the Tynemouth seafront and, as soon as I got out of my car at King Edward’s Bay, I heard the unmistakeable call of a kestrel, followed by the squawking of a crow. When I looked over the fence, I could see two crows attacking a young kestrel.

I managed to chase off the corvids, leaving a very bewildered and frightened kestrel. Then, watching from a distance, I saw the falcon’s mother attempting to protect the youngster, but the crows kept beating her off. Eventually, I managed to keep the crows away long enough for the youngster to recover some of its strength, and for the mother to land, before they both escaped to a nearby priory.

I returned to the area a few days later, and I’m sure I saw the same young kestrel. He or she was resting on one of the posts and looked straight at me, carrying on preening as if it remembered me and knew that I meant no harm. Alan Charlton, Tyne & Wear