Six baby kestrels have been caught on camera at the Bantham Estate near Kingsbridge.

Spokesman Chris Jerwood said: ''It's unusual to have six kestrels and Jake Turner, one of our gamekeepers, managed to snap them.

''We think they may have been born in mid-May and they are now starting to leave their nest.''

According to the RSPB: 'The chicks fledge gradually when they are around four weeks old. They explore increasing distances from the nest, but return to it to roost for another couple of weeks. Adults continue to feed the young for a month after fledging, during which time they will learn to catch their own food.'

Fledglings should be left where they are in the care of their own parents.

Kestrels are a familiar sight with their pointed wings and long tail, hovering beside a roadside verge.

Numbers of kestrels have declined since the 1970s, probably as a result of changes in farming and so it is included on the Amber List.