Puglia, Italy - Lesser Kestrel or Common (1 Viewer)

This is my first ever post, so be gentle!

I am currently just south of the Gargano Peninsular in Puglia, Italy. Yesterday I saw I saw seven kestrels all flying together around a deserted house. Firstly in my home patch in the UK I only see Kestrels in ones or twos and they almost always go into a hover. These birds were clearly catching insects on the wing and in the many minutes I watched them none of them went into a hover.

They were at a distance so although I could clearly see from their markings they were kestrels I could not positively identify whether they were Common or Lesser. I could see that some had grey heads.

Does this behaviour indicate it is more likely to be either one species or the other or is this behaviour of flying in groups and catching insects a common characteristic of both species but I just haven't seen in it in the UK?

Welcome to BF, timabob.
I'm no expert, so let's hope someone who is will be along soon, but I'd say this behaviour is much more likely to be from Lesser Kestrels, yes.

As Lesser Kestrel is a colonial nester, the scenario you describe would indicate that your birds were Lesser, especially as you describe them catching insects, though without images its difficult to be 100% certain.

RB

I'd tend to agree, but with a caveat. Until January I'd have said exactly the same thing about kestrels anywhere, but in January I witnessed something in Tenerife that shook my conviction. Driving up from the coast at Los Gigantes I saw a tight group of birds over the road, hovering, wheeling and diving. Closer examination showed that they were feeding on the wing on insects too small to be seen from the ground. Time to get the camera out.

As there are no lesser kestrels on the island it needed closer examination. They were indeed common kestrels of the local island race, 21 of them, in an area about half the size of a football pitch, if that.

I don't know if this is a local phenomenon of opportunist feeding brought about by a shortage of small mammal prey on these islands, but I suspect this is the case. A couple of miles further along the road was another group of about 5 or 6 doing a similar thing.

I've certainly never seen the same behaviour with common kestrels in Europe. I was speaking to a Spanish birder a couple of days later who said he'd seen the same thing with common kestrels on La Palma.

I'd say that your birds are most likely Lesser Kestrels, but beware if you're on an island with limited opportunities for 'normal' kestrel behaviour.

I have also seen similar behavior with common kestrel even though I do not remember the location at the moment (Crete?)

Niels

I've seen the same with Common Kestrels in Portugal. In some places they nest in colonies. Flight behaviour is also wind-conditions related. Could well be Lessers but that behaviour does not rule out Common and where both species occur they can nest together within one same mixed-colony.