[Simon Phillips]

I was having a family walk in Hampstead Heath yesterday and we saw a kestrel close by. Didn't have binoculars .... but it let us get very close, about 10-12 feet away and on a bough just above head height, it flew to another bough close by and let us get close again and then flew off a little further away.

Amazed to see it so close, perhaps it is tame?

Although I am at best a bad birdwatcher, this was definitely a kestrel, but I did notice when it flew that its upper tail-coverts were blue. There was no other blue on the bird.

No reference to this in my field guide. Can anyone tell me what this might indicate?

Thanks!

[dan pointon]

Hi Simon,

This indicates that the bird you saw was an ad. male. The blue should extend up to the rump, then in to the rusty red of the mantle.

[Simon Phillips]

Originally Posted by dwayne950

Hi Simon,

This indicates that the bird you saw was an ad. male. The blue should extend up to the rump, then in to the rusty red of the mantle.

Thanks Dan, I'm sure what I saw will be regular but the blue didn't extend and was blue rather than slate. I'll check my other field guide tonight .... should have had my camera with me!