PICTURED: Kestrel chicks hatch at Crossness

A pair of kestrels successfully bred just six weeks after arriving at the reserve, with the baby birds making their first public appearances in late June.

The new arrivals are a big deal as the birds are listed as 'amber' on conservation watch lists, while the last time Crossness hosted a kestrel kindergarten was in 2010.

The proud parents arrived at the 20-hectare Thames Water site in May and have been enjoying the rich hunting ground and wide open spaces of the reserve - the last remaining area of grazing marshland in the greater London area.

Karen Sutton, biodiversity manager at Thames Water, said: "I’m so pleased kestrels have returned and decided to breed here.

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"Crossness is a vitally important reserve for us and the hatching of these kestrel chicks gives the species a chance to flourish.

"This land is incredibly important as it offers the kestrel wide-open spaces with plenty of vegetation for hunting small mammals, large insects and reptiles."

Richard Spink, photographer and member of the Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve, captured incredible images of the breeding pair earlier this month, and was back at the reserve at the end of June to take some close-ups of the new arrivals.

Mr Spink said: "This was my first visit for over a week and didn't know what to expect, so when I arrived I was pleased to see chicks sitting at the entrance of the nest box.

"After spending about two hours photographing the adults flying in and out, eventually I was rewarded with the sight of all three chicks together.”

He added: "If I'm really lucky, I might just catch the chicks when they fledge."