Providing a birdbath during dry weather

I have unintentionally learned a valuable lesson today and the effects from that lesson has saddened me greatly.

I have been watching a mother Kestrel teaching her two young to hunt in the last few weeks around my house here at Jean Blanc.

Mum would fly away and start calling to her young with a high pitch repetitive whistle, she would then stop and hover briefly and as the young approached she would then fly away and start calling once more.

I suspect that the young had become more independent and spending more time hunting on their own.

Sadly, this morning, we found one of these young (or at least I am assuming it is one of the ones I have been watching) Kestrels in the horse water butt.

I can only think that the young bird was taking a drink or a bath but once it had flown down from the high sides into about five inches of water it either became wet whilst struggling and fell into the water where it could not get out or was already weak or sick and just didn't have the strength to fly back out.

The water butt was not intended as a bird bath but I have since learned from the RSPB website that they suggest a shallow bath with some kind of perch or plank to assist a bird when it needs to get out.