As far as I could tell and the light wasn't ideal, they were male and female. As far as my knowledge goes there is very little difference between adult female and juv/imm birds and I am probably wrong. It is fair to say that they could of been adult and immature and thinking about the behaviour it would suggest so. I wrongly assumed that the youngsters would be past that stage by now, but as nature was so late starting because of the cold spring I guess this could be a late breeding success. Will be watching more closely in future.
Were you able to determine the age and sex of the pair, Gordon?
I've watched family group of 4 buzzards and 3 kestrels on a regular basis over the past few weeks over Brushes Valley in Stalybridge, and some of the behaviour was similar to that you have described. In some instances, an adult and juvenile kestrel would perch side by side in a tree, before taking to the wing again.
I agree with you about the entertainment value. Sometimes we place too much emphasis on the value of species that are rarely seen. Some of the common species give me as much satisfaction as seeing a species that I may spot just once a year.
We are rightly quick to bemoan those species in decline, so we should celebrate and enjoy the ones that are being successful.
As I wrote in a recent post - kestrels are great birds to watch!
I watched a pair of Kestrel hunting over part of Bickershaw Rucks for an hour before dark, where one went the other followed. I found it quite amazing to watch the rapid wing beats covering the area so quickly but also just as quick to bank and then hover when they spotted movement. It was the unity between them that really drew my attention, even at the end when one disappeared briefly out of sight, to which it started to call to the other with the one remaining bird then flying to the other bird. My thoughts afterwards were : 1. Will Kestrels share their prey outside the breeding season, which was why they called to each other? 2.Because Kestrels are seen often, sometimes they are not admired for their agility enough. A pleasant hour was had.
