Resident Kestrel

[Svengali]

Last summer, I spotted a kestrel sitting in a bunch of weed in the middle of my pond. Over the next 30 minutes or so, it strutted round the banks, occasionally going in for another bath. I thought that it may be injured, but it eventually flew up to a shed roof, and away.
Outside my front window I have a large evergreen bush. At dusk, dozens of starlings fly in to roost. Several times I have seen the kestrel plunge into the bush, & come out with some poor starling or pigeon. I have spotted several bird kills around the garden. I can't blame the cat (For preference, I would blame the cat for EVERYTHING!), as they bear unmistakable signs of a bird-of-prey kill.
I have spent a lot of effort encouraging birds to my garden, but it seems that I have created a kestrel takeaway!

JeremyB

[Svengali]

[Paulines7]

It sounds more like a sparrowhalk than a kestrel to me, Jeremy.  This site tells you a little bit more about their feeding habits.

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/siteindex.htm

[eileen]

I agree it does sound more like a sparrowhawk as kestrels are too small to take starlings and pigeons. I have a pair of sp'awks who visit my garden on a regular basis.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Kestrels will feed on small finches, but pigeons are too big, and a falcon would be unlikely to dive into a bush after its prey; that's a short-winged hawk tactic. It's probably a big female sparrowhawk; the male would be too small to take a pigeon.

[Svengali]

You are probably right - the breast pattern fooled me, and this bird can definitely shift!
JeremyB