Madeiran Kestrel

One of the more fortuitous things about this apartment is there is a tree just behind where the Jacuzzi is. It looks a little bit like a Monkey Puzzle tree, but I don't think it is. I remarked to Dawn when we first moved in here on Monday that it would be nice to see something using it whilst we sat on the roof. Our luck was in ...

There are a pair of Kestrels that hunt for lizards on the cliff face. As you saw from my blip last week, they are a bountiful prey item for them. We have quite often seen them flying over our roof with a poor unfortunate in their talons (and judging by the number of tailless lizards around a lot of lucky escapes).

It appears that they use the tree as a staging post before they go off hunting, which has been giving us some wonderful views of them.

I am going to say this is a Common Kestrel, but a few people have said it may be a Lesser Kestrel, which are also prevalent on the island. I think it looks too big, but I am happy to be proved wrong.

Another notable sighting today was a small flock of Blackcaps outside the hotel doors. There were at least a dozen picking at the seeds on the various flowers in the beds. The swift flocks appear to be getting larger too.

Fair play, we have had some good birding at times on the island without really trying.