Falconidae - Falcons

The falcons are small to medium sized birds with long, tapering wings built for speed. They feed on a variety of prey, from insects to birds. Although most falcons actively pursue their prey, the Kestrel is a familiar sight hovering along roadside verges waiting to pounce on an unlucky mouse or vole. In contrast, the Peregrine may reach speeds in excess of 100 mph in its bullet-like stoop for prey. The sexes are usually similar in plumage, but the female is generally larger in size. Unlike the hawks, to which they are closely related, they do not build nests, but use a scrape on a cliff ledge, or re-use an old nest built by someone else. In many species, nest-sites are traditional and may be used continuously for several decades.

Regularly Occurring Species

Kestrel
Merlin
Hobby
Peregrine

Occasional Visitors

Lesser Kestrel
American Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Amur Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Gyrfalcon

Bird tracking

Phil Atkinson explains the technology behind tracking.

Article

Paper call for special HPAI issue

We are putting together a special issue of the BTO journal Bird Study to bring together research documenting the HPAI outbreak and its impacts on wild birds.

Event

Songbird ID (3 sessions, Wednesdays 10am)

This course involves three weekly online sessions of 100 minutes, with a trainer:participant ratio of about 1:30. Participants' microphones are muted during the sessions but there is a large interactive component,...