Mauritius Kestrel
This was a species which I never thought I would see & get on my World List. In 1974 it was considered the rarest bird in the world, with a total population of just four birds, with just one female! Yet again it was the Durrell Foundation & Carl Jones who came to the rescue. Eggs were taken from tthe wild to be placed in incubators & it worked! The survival rate of chicks shot up & today it is thought that there around 400 birds on the island.
All individuals are colour ringed.
It was the same old story of introduction of alien mammals & plants & in the 1950's there was a malaria epidemic on the island & the authorities used lots of pesticides. This proved to be catastrophic for this species.
However, there are still problems with this species. In 2005 the population was estimated as around 800 birds, since then there has been a steady decline.
This is a fantastic little falcon, hunting from within the canopy of native forest. A very charismatic species & so far one of the highlights of our trip here.
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