Kestrels set to fly back

A KESTREL rescue plan has been launched to aid dwindling numbers – at the expense of its feathered counterparts.

Despite kestrel population figures plummeting in recent years, pigeon numbers have been flying up across Andalucia.

And now the Junta has unveiled a strategy which is set to readdress the bird balance.

Officials have announced that bird boxes – made purely to accommodate kestrels – will be installed in the hollows of churches and historic monuments.

The thousand-year-old species has suffered due to the increased use of insecticides and the loss of its natural habitat.

Its principle choice of home – holes in city buildings – has been blocked up by restoration workers.

“Regeneration efforts have made no efforts to aid the plight of Andalucia’s kestrel,” explained Francisco Hortas, kestrel conservation project manager.

In Cadiz province alone, 180 kestrel boxes have now been installed in the concealed corners of historical buildings.

It is hoped that once kestrel numbers start flocking back to full health, pigeons – which are the scourge of town halls due to their acidic excrement – begin to fall in number.