THERE was a surfeit of raptors this morning.
By Sparrow Hill a kestrel sat on the phone lines, for all the world looking like a hook-nosed hunched-backed asssissin. Kestrels have this habit of perching on wires with their heads drawn into their shoulders, almost as it it would be too much of an effort to fly off and get down to the business of the day - hunting.
But it is just a sham. They are keeping their eyes wide open all the times.
Another kestrel demonstrated this in Broad Lane, hovering over the ditch at the side of the road, a majestic sight. No matter how many times I see a kestrel I cannot help but be impressed. Not for nothing it is also know as the windhover, its wings beats frantically to keep its head still so that it can scan the ground below for its prey.
By Hillhouse another kestrel sat in a tree, hunched up again. Winter is a good time for spotting them, as the absence of leaves rids them of cover.
Where Flatman's Lane joins Broad Lane a sparrowhawk ripped along the road, somewhat dangerously as headlight level but it sped off along the hedgerows. It was difficult to see what it was chasing.
And, to cap it all, further along the road there was a spotted woodpecker atop a telegraph pole!

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