Driving around France and particularly Poitou-Charentes as I am at the moment (Feb 2016) I have seen many more Kestrels than I usually see.
They are sitting on telegraph wires and electricity cables, they are in trees, on posts and some are even doing what they are supposed to do which is hovering.
I would guess that I have seen about 4 times as many Kestrels as Buzzards.
Could it be the mild winters are resulting in more mice and voles and so more young Kestrels are surviving? Whatever the reason its nice to see them.