Kestrels are the UK's most familiar raptor, with welfare linked to small mammal prey availability and the unique hovering hunting behaviour that makes them vulnerable to wind and rain.
Kestrel welfare is directly linked to the energetics of their specialised hovering hunting strategy. Hovering requires significant energy expenditure, and kestrels in poor weather conditions - particularly heavy rain and strong winds - cannot hunt effectively. A kestrel unable to hunt for more than 2-3 days may face starvation, as they have limited fat reserves. This weather vulnerability creates acute welfare risk during prolonged adverse weather periods, particularly in late winter when energy demands are highest. The vole population cycle creates additional welfare instability: in vole trough years, kestrels experience food scarcity that may extend over entire breeding seasons. Rodenticide secondary poisoning adds a chronic welfare dimension: kestrels consuming field voles and mice that have ingested second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides may suffer anticoagulant accumulation that impairs clotting and contributes to injury mortality. Habitat management that maintains short grassland along road verges and field margins is the most effective landscape-scale kestrel welfare intervention, providing accessible hunting habitat close to nesting sites.