Some more pics of the Kestrel Chicks .

I have been back a few times now to stand and stare at these wonderful chicks . I thought that there were only 2 of them . But today i went along with a friend (Keith , Holding Moments) and we reslised that there are infact 3 chicks !!!! One is very mobile and flying around the woodland . One is a fairly mobile one , but tends not to wander to far away . The last one is still a bit fluffy and looks fat . So i have called him ,Mark !! As thats how i feel a lot of the time , fat and fluffy lol .

While we were there today the parents came back several times with food for them . The first bit of food was a huge , and i mean huge Rat !! Sadly , the chick that had this went out of our view. We were just about to go back to mine for a coffe e and a natter , when the parent came back again with a big mouse . This time , Mark the fluffy one ate it right in front of us !! But had his back to us , so we didn't get to see the real gory bits !! But could see him ripping this mouse into bite size chunks and pulling the guts out and snacking on those as well !!

We decided to hang around for another ten minutes and it was worth it , as one of the others came back and sat with fluffy fat Mark . So we were able to get some images of the two together .

Then it was time to head home for a coffee . And for Keith and his friend to be licked to death by Mabel & Maya !! Mabel and Maya needed a walk , so when Keith and his friend had gone , i headed back over to have a wee look .

As i was walking round , i bumped into a walking buddy , who has a big Boxer , who Mabel loves and Maya was yet to meet . They all had a run around and i pointed out the Ketstrels to the owner of Ralfie . I know all the dogs name where i walk , but i don't know hardly any of the owners names !! Guess that shows i like dogs more than some people lol . As we walked past the allotments one of the adult Kestrels flew out of one of the overgrown allotments with a huge rat in its tallons !!! I had wondered where they were getting them from . An this makes sense , as these damn rats are eating everything that i am  growing on my plot . So the more that get taken by the family , the better it is in my opinion !!!  On the way back round one of the parents arrived with another big rat !! This was taken by one of the stronger chicks and taken away to a high branch where they devoured it in a matter of minutes , maybe 2 minutes !!! 

As i had the dogs with me i didn't have my camera . But i did have my binoculars . Which are a pair of Leitz Trinovid 10x25 pocket binos . Thes are fabulous little bins . I was able to stand at a good distance and just watch all the goings on for a good half hr while Maya and Mabel amussed themselves in the long grass in the park .

I don't think it will be long before the stronger ones are away by themselves . But hopefully , Fluffy Fat Mark will be around for another week or so , so i can enjoy watching these wonderful birds .

Here are afew pics from today . Some are not that sharp as they were jumping around with the food . But you can see the bits n bobs of the mouse . So if you are a bit squeemish , please don't view the photos .

 The large mouse or possibly a small rat .

 Pulling its mid morning snack to pieces .

 Sadly not very sharp , but shows the rat that has been delivered .

You can see the blood on the chest feathers where it has just eaten .

Once again , thanks for looking in . Please feel free to leave a comment or two and follow my blog .
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Thanks , Mark.