A kestrel is “lucky to be alive” after a group of children discovered it in the woods.

The youngsters were attending forest school Wild At Heart Learning in Nurstead Woods, Meopham, earlier this month when they came across the bird of prey attempting to climb up a tree.

Co-owner and leader at the school Julia Slade said: “The children were building a camp over in the area. We were tending to the fire when we were told there was an owl.

“This raised a red flag as they are not usually out at this time in the day so we went over and found a beautiful kestrel. She was not flying so we were able to catch her. She did not put up much of a fight.

“The children were really inquisitive but she was quite frightened so we put her away from them. They were very excited as they have never seen one that close up before, neither had I.”

After securing the bird, which has been called Esme, the teacher contacted animal rescuer Carly Ahlen, from GABO Wildlife.

Carly said: “She was not looking good at all. Ruffled feathers, dehydrated, under weight and her right wing displayed signs of trauma. She was unable to fly and her life was hanging by a thread due to risk of starvation.”

She treated the bird and was set to release it back into the woods but noticed something still wasn’t right.

Another visit to the vets revealed there was significant bruising to the bird’s right wing, meaning she was unstable when attempting to fly.

Carly added: “Once Esme's bruising subsides, the muscle tone and fitness level needs to be assessed because any bird of prey in captivity for three to four weeks will lose fitness.

“She will spend some time in a flight aviary to build this up and will then be released back into her territory in Nurstead Court.

“She will make a full recovery and is lucky to be alive. The children are real wildlife warriors.”

Julia, who owns the school with friend Gilly Beeching, added: “These children saved her life, had they not spotted her she would have been left for the predators.”

Wild at Heart Learning opened in Nurstead Woods in 2021 and aims to provide an outdoor, nature-based learning approach for young children.