kestrel Numbers Fall

Kestrels, once the most common bird of prey in Britain and a familiar sight hovering beside the motorway, have suffered a dramatic fall in numbers, according to a major survey.

The kestrel used to be a common sight by motorways but numbers have plummeted.

The kestrel used to be a common sight by motorways but numbers have plummeted. Photo: PAUL ARMIGER

The latest Breeding Birds Survey showed numbers of kestrels, often seen hovering over major roads looking for small rodents, plunged by more than a third between 2008 and 2009.

The dramatic drop came on top of long-term declines which saw kestrel numbers fall by a fifth between 1995 and 2008, the survey run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) found.

The ‘motorway falcon’, as the bird is known, used to be a common sight by roadsides.

It was the subject of Ken Loach's famous 1969 film Kes, about a working class Yorkshire lad who has a pet kestrel. The bird also inspired Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem The Windhover.

However intensive farming and a run of difficult winters has led to a decline in the kestrel’s main food source which is small mammals like field mice and voles.

A popular bird, it was the subject of Ken Loach's famous 1969 film Kes, about a working class Yorkshire lad who has a pet kestrel. The bird also inspired Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem The Windhover.

Grahame Madge, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, blamed intensive farming for the fall in numbers.

He pointed out that the decline in kestrels and sparrow hawks, questions the theory that the birds of prey are causing a decline in song birds.

"Kestrels depend on rough grassland where they can feed on beetles, voles and other small mammals. They are a widespread countryside bird so these figures are alarming. We also believe pesticides and cold winters are behind the losses which have happened in a short space of time and are gathering pace," he said.

But the BTO survey was not all bad news for birds of prey. Buzzards, that thrive on rabbits and worms, are doing well and are now the most common sight by motorways. Red kites are also increasing. The hobby, a migrant falcon, has increased by 23 per cent since 1995 thanks to the increasing range of dragonfly species, one of its main foods.

The British Breeding Bird survey involves more than 2,500 volunteers surveying 3,200 sites across the UK during the summer to monitor more than 100 bird species.

The survey also showed a decline in small birds because of the cold winter, such as stonechats, treecreepers, great tits and blue tits.