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Kestrel, Sparrowhawk Or Merlin?

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237SJ | 16:02 Tue 16th Feb 2016 | Twitching & Birdwatching
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Honey coloured with black wingtips and tail tips. Hovering and getting closer to the ground in stages. Eventually swooped onto a rodent, bit of a scuffle and then it flew off with the prey in it`s claws. I was really lucky to see it as it was only about 15 feet from me.
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Where in the UK did you see it?
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Thanks Mazie. I`m leaning towards Kestrel because it was quite small and sparrowhawks tend to catch birds and swoop on them rather than hover and swoop on rodents. Someone once told me that Kestrals carry their prey in the beaks rather than their claws but this one carried it in the claws. The tail tips looked like a Kestrel as well but then again it did look a bit like a Merlin..
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hc - south east, open scrubby land (which makes me think it`s not a Merlin). I wish my Dad was still alive - he was an expert on birds
Kestrels carry its prey in its talons, not its beak
Nothing to do with your question... but your avatar looks like my little black prince, Perry xx
You're in the right place to see a merlin, and it's the right time of year. They are small birds, smaller than the kestrel.
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Have just looked into it some more and Merlin`s don`t hover so it was definitely a Kestral. I wish I had my camera with me. It was so close that I heard it`s feet land on the dead ferns.

hippy - the picture is of my cat who died in December
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*Kestrel*

Thanks for the replies
sounds like a kestrel
My guess is kestrel, I base this mostly on its ability to hover.
" Its small size enables it to hover and hang in the breeze as it pursues its prey. "

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/m/merlin/
I have just gone back on line and spotted your post SJ. I'm with chipchopper, sweyne, and hc, the hover and description tells me Kestrel.

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