Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Fifty-five

LewesWildlife
, 11 May 2020
Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Fifty-five
Kestrel /Photo by Bob Eade

The uplifting role that wildlife plays in our lives has become more vital than ever. So, for my own sanity as much as anything, I’m going to keep a daily diary of what I find around my garden. Photograph the wildlife you can see from your window or in your garden and post your pictures on the ‘Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Table’ page.

Day Fifty-five

Some of the highlights of yesterday's Back Garden Bird Race were the birds of prey people saw from their gardens and windows. There was a migratory Black Kite and an Osprey passing through Sussex. The Hobby, our migratory falcon, was seen by a few people and Red Kites seem to be popping up everywhere. I was thrilled to add a Kestrel to my list - the first one I have seen over the garden in quite some time.

Kes 3 Hugh Clark

(Photo by Hugh Clark)

Whether high on the South Downs or alongside a busy A27, a kestrel is instantly recognisable; a thin-winged falcon hovering in mid-air seemingly frozen in time; crucified against the clouds. Kestrels don’t exactly hover like smaller birds such as hummingbirds can. A Kestrel is actually flying forward at exactly the same speed as the wind is blowing it back and therefore appears motionless. It is performing an intimate duet with the breeze. Imagine the oncoming wind as a flamenco guitarist calling the tune, the Kestrel alters the tempo of its wing beats, subtly twisting its wingtips or fanning its tail in response. 

On calm days the Kestrel has to work to stay aloft but on breezy days it subtly surfs the airstream. As its body writhes gracefully, the head stays in the exact same position; focused eyes staring down to the earth. These motionless eyes are the whole reason behind this incredible performance. The Kestrel can now detect the slightest quiver in the long grass that will betray a mouse’s movement.

Kes 2 BE 
(Photo by Bob Eade)

I’ve been obsessed with watching Kestrels since the seventies when I joined the Young Ornithologist’s Club and got my mum to sew their hovering Kestrel logo patch on my denim top. I still have my YOC Kestrel t-shirt somewhere.

Shirt

(Found it! I still have my YOC Kestrel t-shirt from the seventies. Not too sure I could squeeze into it now though)

Since then I’ve watched hundreds of Kestrels hover and drop, but I’ve still yet to see one rise triumphantly with a mouse in its talons. I feel cheated. But I've sort of felt that the Kestrel has been cheated too. It just hasn’t received the recognition it deserves for its hovering talents

Certainly long ago in Sussex the bird’s skilled flight was celebrated in colloquial names such as 'wind bivver' or 'vanner hawk' Across England it was once the 'windhover', also the name of the famous 1877 sonnett (here) in which Gerard Manley Hopkins pays tribute to bird’s ‘brute beauty and valour and act’. Yet all these names were eclipsed by Kestrel,  a name derived from the French word ‘crecelle’ meaning rattle; a reference to its jangly ‘ki-ki-ki-ki’ call.

Kes 1 Peter Brooks  

(Photo by Peter Brookes)

At one point, the aerial accomplishments of the Kestrel were acknowledged by the aviation industry when a new plane capable of vertical take-off was christened the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel. But when this prototype plane was modified, the name had to be modified too. This new name immortalised another bird of prey; the Harrier Jump Jet. And so the Kestrel, a bird which has such command of movement, has to be content lending its name to a brand of super-strength lager. Ironically, after a few cans you’ll probably start to lose control of your ability to move.      

The weather's been incredibly windy here this morning. I often wonder how these gusts affect the Kestrel and its ability to hunt. I mean, how can it detect a twitch in the grass stems when the entire meadow is getting buffeted about? I guess it just has to ride out the storm until things calm down once again. Well, our current situation doesn't seem to be getting any calmer or clearer, so I'm not going to be going beyond the cul-de-sac just yet. I'm just gonna stay put, watch the world from my window and listen to some 1980s soft-rock to get me through this week. 

Good to see that Christopher Cross is improving after being paralysed by Coronavirus. So in tribute to him and the Kestrel - here's Ride Like the Wind.

Kes 3 Jan 

(Photo by Jan McKinnell)

 

 


Leave a comment

Comments

  • Ginny-Vic:

    I have never heard this song before but I really like it. I think I will do a dance to it, maybe about Kestrels! I do feel a bit envious of the bird gliding and twirling at great heights. Beautiful pictures and a very poetic entry. I love that you explain where all the words come from. This is so interesting! I really look forward to reading the entries. It is part of my lunchtime lockdown!

    11 May 2020 12:38:00

  • Christine Dafter:

    I wasn’t able to take part in yesterdays bird watch, but, after reading the comments about Gemma’s photograph of a Long Tailed Tit (splat!), I thought I would report that there is a nesting pair in my garden amongst the branches of the honeysuckle. I have never seen a Long Tailed Tit’s nest before, and looks so fragile, beautifully constructed, and cleverly built so as to be hard to see, even though the branches are quite slim and open. Once the chick has fledged (and there seems be only one), I hope to extricate the nest from the foliage and bring it into the Trust for our collection of nests for the children to see in the future. If there is a future! Thankyou once again Michael for some fascinating info about the Kestrel.

    11 May 2020 18:34:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783202368.87760 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783202368.90370.026Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783202368.90380.0001Server address: 216.73.217.177
1783202368.90390Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783202368.90390Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five
    [s] => corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five
    [1] => corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five
)
1783202368.90420.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202368.90510.0008 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783202368.90680.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783202368.90720.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783202368.90890.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22629186
1783202368.90940.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22629186
1783202368.90990.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-04 21:59:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-04 21:59:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783202368.91140.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 21:59:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783202368.91350.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783202368.9140.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2143 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 21:59:00'
1783202368.91490.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783202368.91560.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783202368.91640.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=33 LIMIT 1
1783202368.9170.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783202368.91720.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783202368.9180.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 21:59:00' AND postSlug='corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five'
1783202368.93940.0213Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783202368.93990.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783202368.94150.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783202368.94180.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783202368.94320.0015 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783202368.94510.0019 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783202368.94810.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202368.94890.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783202368.95090.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783202368.9510.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.95180.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.95220.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.96150.0093 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.96240.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.96310.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783202368.96640.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202368.96710.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783202368.96910.002 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783202368.96970.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783202368.97060.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783202368.97130.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783202368.9730.0017 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='corona-wildlife-diary-day-fifty-five')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 21:59:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783202368.97680.0038 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783202368.97730.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783202368.980.0027Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783202368.98110.001 [2] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2143 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783202369.05030.0692 [2] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783202369.05110.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783202369.05120.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783202369.05220.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783202369.05290.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783202369.05350.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783202369.05580.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202369.05630.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783202369.05880.0025 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783202369.05970.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783202369.06050.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783202369.06120.0007 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783202369.06360.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202369.06420.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783202369.06610.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783202369.06920.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783202369.06990.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783202369.07040.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783202369.07270.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202369.07310.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783202369.07510.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783202369.07710.002 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783202369.07770.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783202369.07810.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783202369.08010.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783202369.08060.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783202369.08240.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783202369.08360.0012Request time: 0.2098
1783202369.08370Process time: 0.2095
1783202369.08370Memory: 1.6511