I knew when I took on an acre of garden that I might get some visitors that were inconceivable in a smaller garden, but even so I didn't expect that it would be big enough to attract the attentions of this lovely boy.
Yes, over the last week I've been lucky enough to be visited by a male Kestrel. At first, we saw him a couple of times hovering over 'the meadow' (which is still a long way from becoming a meadow!).
But in the last couple of days, he has taken at intervals to sitting proudly on top of the Norwegian Spruce (blithely ignoring the protestations of the local Magpie pair) or, on occasion dropping down to the pond for a bathe or the path to pick up some morsel or other.
But the thing he really seems to like doing is hunting the 'Northern Hills'. This is where I stacked logs and covered them with soil, and where a number of rodent holes have now appeared!
I don't know if you feel you see fewer Kestrels these days 'wind-jamming' over motorway verges, but the RSPB has been concerned about declines in the UK's population in recent years. A study has been looking into possible causes of this, and preliminary results point to changes in agricultural practices and increased use of rodenticides.
For now, I just glad that my garden is giving a bit of succour to this male, and I hope that he's spotted my Kestrel box (which I thought was a very long-shot originally), and that he's got a lady Kestrel in mind to show it to!
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw