Kestrel among the tombstones

On my way to the shops via Margravine Cemetery 2 afternoons ago, I was walking via the grass as mostly usual when I noticed at the edge of, but slightly out, a big group of pigeons another bird which I took initially for one of those weird colour pigeons. We don't have many in the cemetery, most are fairly classic, but we still have a few like this one:



But something did not feel quite right so I put my bins onto it: a Kestrel! on the ground in the cemetery! never happened to me before... I do see them from time to time hover around or passing by, but this, never.





It initially flew to the cut down tree of paradise but didn't stay there long as it was chased away by one of the Jays. I had actually wondered about the Jays earlier that day thinking that I had not seen them for a while, so now I have a hint as to where they may be nesting. It then went on to sit on a tombstone.




then another:




where it proceeded to scratch an itch:





It then flew back on various trees above the pigeon flock. A few times it flew into the pigeon flock who took barely any notice of it. Following some suggestion of weird matings on the Londonbirders mailing list my mind wondered for a nanosecond whether it was after that afore featured pigeon which was in the middle of it...

It then flew from tree to tree, panicking some small birds on the way, but, unfortunately, I had to leave and leave it to it. I'll never know but the next day I found a dead young black bird missing its head...

For more photos, go to my album or click on any of the photos.

The geese are at it again...

At about the same time last year a pair of Canada Geese started nesting on the Wharf by the supermarket in Sands End (not far from Wandsworth Bridge). They had failed in the same spot the previous year, they failed last year. What will happen this year? We'll see...

The goose was helpfully off the eggs for me to take a photo, it was back on them soon after :)