For the past 4 years a pair of Kestrels have made their home in a Barn Owl nest box located in Reg’s wildflower meadow. Many visitors have been entertained not only by their noisy mating routine often at the start of the Valley of the Eagles,  but by the acrobatic territorial display of the male kestrel. Every day he bravely defends his partner and young chicks, by taking it upon himself to chase and hit on the back of the head any eagle that strays too close to the box. Two years ago a nest box camera was fitted, allowing all our visitors to enjoy real reality TV and watch the young Kestrel family grow up. Every year so far all the chicks have successfully fledged the nest, but we have often wondered what has happened to the chicks when they have left the nest. This June we decided that we would BTO ring the chicks, to follow their progress in the future.

On a beautiful sunny June day BTO ringer Tim Walker arrived at the Trust, and along with Sam, Mike and Andy made their way to the meadow. Mike was given the task of climbing the ladder up to the nest site, and very carefully he took the chicks out of the nest one by one. Each was placed into a holdall, and after a quick check on the TV screen in the hide to check that no chicks had been missed they were gently lowered to the ground. Each chick was then taken out of bag and carefully weighed, and body measurements taken. A BTO ring was fitted to the chick’s leg and a note made of its unique number. One chick made a quick tour into the hide with Ashley, where a large crowd had gathered to watch the ringing process. Five chicks in total were rung, and after a few photos to record the occasion, they were carefully placed back in the holdall and carried back to their nest box. Within a few minutes the parents were back on the scene, and the chicks soon settled back into their normal way of life. They are growing really quickly now, with flight feathers appearing, and it won’t be long before they are leaving the nest for good. Sadly we will only find out anything about the chick’s life if they are found by someone, and their ring number passed onto the British Musaem . However it gives a good insight into how long they live and how far they travel. As a record of their life a 10minute recording has been made from the nest cam each week, and in the autumn when the nest is empty this will be played in the hide for everyone to follow how this family progressed during the summer.

meeting its fans in the hide	no one home	ring fitting
one for the photo album	must be a woman, doesn't want anyone to know her weight!	Mike puts his South African climbing practice to good use
ready for their trip home	the ringing team