Miss,there is an eagle trapped in the fence!

[2dogs2000]

Playtime on Wednesday a child came running to tell me there was an eagle trapped in the fence. I immediately said "it is not an eagle, are you sure they didn't say seagull?" The child was adamant that it was an eagle and had been sent to fetch me.
The only possibility I could think of was a red kite. I was quite excited but also thinking how the h... was I going to free a trapped red kite?
When I arrived, there was a female kestrel having breakfast behind the wire fence.Awwww! She must have been very hungry as she stayed put even though there were a lot of children around. Eventually she dragged her breakfast into the brambles and ate in peace. When playtime was over she was seen leaving her hiding place with no visible injuries.

Now I am still not sure whether it was a child or the teacher on duty that thought it was an eagle but they obviously don't know the difference in size.

[healfdan]

Nice little story and I am sure that by now that child will have googled eagles and falcons and be much the wiser as a result of this brief encounter.

[FUDGEY]

Great story, but I think its more likely to have been a Sparrowhawk.

[actionfinch]

some people have all the luck...

[faz]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

Great story, but I think its more likely to have been a Sparrowhawk.

Not being argumentative but why could it not be a kestrel? As the op says female kestrel

[FUDGEY]

Not being argumentative either, but I never said "it could not be a Kestrel" I said it "would more likely be a Sparrowhawk" I said this because it is highly unlikely a Kestrel would take its prey into cover like the Brambles described. .

[faz]

hi fudgey

not very often agreed but with all those school kids i no wot i would do head for nearest bush

[FUDGEY]

your not a Kestrel though Jokes a side chances are it wasnt a Kestrel. A few reasons make me think this, Kestrels dont catch that many birds at this time of year and Sparrowhawks do, the whole taking it into cover says Sparr too and its boldness cements my thoughts. I may be wrong though it has been known lol

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

your not a Kestrel though Jokes a side chances are it wasnt a Kestrel. A few reasons make me think this, Kestrels dont catch that many birds at this time of year and Sparrowhawks do, the whole taking it into cover says Sparr too and its boldness cements my thoughts. I may be wrong though it has been known lol

Although it is possible that a mistake has been made with the ID, I see no reason whatsoever to query the original ID of a female Kestrel (based on the details in the story).
IMO the apparent tameness is entirely irrelevent (personally I have been far closer to Kestrels than Sparrowhawks, although I've seen approachable individuals of both species), and I see no reason why a Kestrel shouldn't take food into cover.
As far as the type of food goes, the OP doesn't say that it was a bird - but Kestrels will take birds at any time of year (the diet of urban Kestrels in particular often contains a large proportion of birds).

[Paul mabbott]

Whatever it was, isn't it good that the children were interested and cared about it? They recognised it was a raptor although perhaps its lunch was a bit of a clue.