After school on Monday Kathryn and Beth got a surprise visitor- a young male falcon. We aren't sure who got the biggest fright- the bird or the teachers, but Kathryn sent the photos to the National Bird of Prey Centre and got this response...

Morena Kathryn,

What a treat for you guys! Thank you so much for sending that through to us, we will indeed add it to our national sightings database. By the looks, what you have there is a youngish male falcon. The adult plumage has barring on the back and the backs of the wings... this wee chap is an unstriped rich solid chocolate brown, so he's still wearing his first set of feathers grown. He'll moult towards the end of the upcoming summer into adult feathering. 

 When they first start out, their legs, feet and soft parts of the face (eye rings and cere at the top of the beak) are a beautiful powdery blue colour... maturing into adulthood this blue turns a beautiful yellow colour (which is accentuated each breeding season).... in between (we refer to their teenage months) they turn a little greenish as the yellow punches through... this wee chap looks like he's just on the other side of that, so I'd suggest he was one of last seasons chicks and is coming up to his first birthday.

They're bold and curious and we do get the odd report of them entering buildings for a bit of a look around. That said, window strike can be problematic for these guys, especially if windows are at opposite ends and they can see right through... they evolved flying under the canopy... thankfully not the case for this wee guy. Hope the kids got a kick out of seeing him! Cheers so much for the report... very very awesome to see!
Ngā mihi,
Heidi