Hi Bob. Sounds like an Epic Adventure!
And sad to see you leave the UAE.
Looking at the bird, I think we can conclude it's a male, with the greyish head and clear grey tail. Even a 1st summer male Lesser Kestrel should not have this densely spotted back and upper wing.
But I might very well be wrong, as I have been on numerous occasions ;-)
Just trying to learn and not doubting your identification skills but my book describes the 10th Primary as longer than others on the Lesser but shorter than the 8th and same length as the 7th on the Common. This bird landed on our windowsill for a couple of seconds and was definitely smaller than the others I'd seen last year. Could it have been a juvenile and is so are they noticeably smaller? It was also beating its wings very fast and again noticeably faster than what we were used to the year before. I returned from 4 weeks in Antartica 5 weeks ago (birds were fantastic) and have been in lockdown since as I'm 72. I am due to fly out on 27th May after finishing a 2 year contract so this might be the last post on this site. Thank you for your help and patience in the past.
Hi Bob. This looks good for Common Kestrel. Try Wamm Farms now for Lesser Kestrels - I know that would be a tick for you.
Thank you Tommy. I was always interested in photographing wildlife but I now have the bug for watching as well. Thanks for all your help.
Hi Bob. Sounds like an Epic Adventure! And sad to see you leave the UAE. Looking at the bird, I think we can conclude it's a male, with the greyish head and clear grey tail. Even a 1st summer male Lesser Kestrel should not have this densely spotted back and upper wing. But I might very well be wrong, as I have been on numerous occasions ;-)
Just trying to learn and not doubting your identification skills but my book describes the 10th Primary as longer than others on the Lesser but shorter than the 8th and same length as the 7th on the Common. This bird landed on our windowsill for a couple of seconds and was definitely smaller than the others I'd seen last year. Could it have been a juvenile and is so are they noticeably smaller? It was also beating its wings very fast and again noticeably faster than what we were used to the year before. I returned from 4 weeks in Antartica 5 weeks ago (birds were fantastic) and have been in lockdown since as I'm 72. I am due to fly out on 27th May after finishing a 2 year contract so this might be the last post on this site. Thank you for your help and patience in the past.
Seen in Healthcare City outside the window of my apartment in Hyatt Regency Creek Heights.