Urban Hawks The other day . an observer saw a kestrel
hovering over Covent Garden —an event that should go down in the records. At the same time the hawk tribe in general, though not the kestrel in particular, is attracted to urban conditions in many parts of the world. I twice spent many weeks in Cologne, and almost every day watched hawks that I found it very difficult to identify playing about the cathedral spire. They were as constant to this site as the golden orioles to the deserted castles. What an easy life a peregrine falcon would lead among London pigeons or a sparrowhawk among the sparrows! There is less to attract the kestrel, which much prefers mice to birds. However, one of the very common birds of towns (especially in my experience of Oxford) is` the tawny owl, which has much the same taste, though it is omnivorous and will take even doves. There is, I think, no doubt that the bombing of London has increased the bird (as well as the plant and insect) population. It is, I understand, remarkable how many autumnal migrants, including even an odd corncrake or two, drop for a rest into London's open spaces. The crowning wonder, of course, is that so rare a bird as the black redstart should have evinced a preference for London.
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