Mistaken identity

"Is that a juvenile kestrel?" I wondered in my daily check on the chateau inhabitants. In my defence, it was very high up and far away, and it was difficult to tell how big it was. On the other hand, while I was pondering, an adult kestrel flew past with some food in its beak and completely ignored it.

So I went home to fetch the big lens and took some photos. When I zoomed in on the computer, I could tell it was definitely not a bird of prey. It did look bigger than a normal sparrow though, so Google Lens was deployed. Rock sparrow (petronia petronia) seems to be the answer -- you can't see it well here, but it has a yellow splotch on its breast. I tend to dismiss sparrows as "just sparrows", so it's interesting to see there are different varieties. The flying kestrel continued to whizz overhead, too fast to catch, so this is my blip.

Edit: see the different bird featured on this day last year!

It was the choir AGM this afternoon. No big surprises, but it still took two hours. The big reveal of next season's programme: Poulenc's Gloria, which I don't know, but I do quite like Poulenc. After the meeting there was a cheeky apero, and then I drove home in Irish-style drizzle, quite a contrast with yesterday!