The lesser kestrel is a colonial-nesting migratory falcon of southern Europe dependent on traditional buildings and open farmland for breeding, with welfare threats from building restoration and pesticide use.
Lesser kestrel welfare is closely tied to the availability of intact nest cavities in traditional architecture and abundant large invertebrate prey in surrounding farmland. Colony disturbance during building renovation causes nest abandonment and chick mortality at a scale that affects population dynamics. Pesticide use on cereal farmland reduces grasshopper and cricket prey, causing chick starvation during the critical rearing period. Legislative protection requiring ornithological surveys before building works at known colony sites is the primary welfare intervention.