Falcons, how bad for the flock are they?

[Equus5O]

I think a Kestrel is a small bird of prey.

 

[amazondoc]

If it's smaller, then in this state it's likely to be Cooper's Hawks. While Cooper's will occasionally kill chickens, they are much too small to carry the chickens away.

If the birds are actually disappearing, as opposed to being killed in place, then owls or mammalian predators are the likely culprits.

 

[invalidsession]

Quote:
Yep, Kestrels are about the size of a pigeon and mainly hunt mice, voles etc. They are certainly not big enough to tackle any thing much larger.
Falcons are fiercer predators but generally prefer to hunt on the wing, they can stoop (dive) at some incredible speeds and are the fastest animal on the planet @ some 200 + mph they are also partial to nesting in very high cliffs and buildings so I seriously doubt that you are seeing them in trees.
Here's a link. http://www.extremescience.com/fastinworld.htm

Absolutely awesome, hope this helps with your identification.

Chris.