Jonathan Kemp; A naturalist in the south of France

We have been lucky to have a locally rare falcon roosting in trees for the last few days very close to the mill. It is an Eleonora’s Falcon (Fr. Faucon Eléonore), named after Eleanor of Arborea, a famous queen or lady judge in 14 th century Sardinia, the first ruler in history to grant protection to hawk and falcon nests.  Falcons are by nature elegant birds, generally slimmer than hawks, built for pursuit speed. However, even two falcons have differing body shapes, adapted to the way that they capture their prey.  Eleonoras are noticeably less bulky than peregrines (Fr. Faucon pélerin).  They need the acrobatic speed for chasing prey whilst heavier peregrines often power down from above at tremendous diving speed, and are the fastest animal on the planet.  Eleonoras delay the reproduction period to late summer, nesting in colonies on the cliffs of the Mediterranean coastal  islands, and use their aerobatic skills to capture tired birds that have been fl...