Fat Falco Ate All The Vole Pies!! (1 Viewer)

I don't know if this year will be a Vole year but along a south-facing hillside in an excellent birding Glen ( not far from the "Raptor Wars" site) 5 Kestrels & 4 Buzzards were hanging on the updrafts hunting Voles. The birds were viewed from an adjacent road & one of the Kestrels was repeatedly watched catching Voles. After about 20 minutes hunting she appeared stuffed & indeed her last Vole of the afternoon was dropped from about 15 metres only to be retrieved before it hit the ground. The voluptuous Vole catcher then drifted down across the road & I was able to snatch a quick image as the rodent-ravenous raptor lumbered by.

Fatty Falco!

You almost see it burping happily!

Great shot. Presumably off to get some indigestion tablets.

Reminds me that at Elmley in Kent (pre digicam so no photos) I saw a Kestrel devour a snake - swallowing it like a a piece of spaghetti. It then sat on the ground for 10 minutes before lumbering off into the air about 10 yards onto a post - it was all it could do to make it.

I would contend that this was a fatter falcon, but a considerably less well taken photo!

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