A kestrel couple have built a nest on the balcony of an apartment overlooking the Westerscheld estuary on the edge of the Zeeland town of Terneuzen – and now it has five eggs in it.

The flat’s tenant Meta de Heus said the female bird sits on the nest all day and the male brings the odd dead mouse to her. ‘They start at 6am and it is pretty noisy,’ she told broadcaster Omroep Zeeland.

Kestrels usually nest in holes in trees or on a ledge on cliffs or buildings, and they often use the same nest site in successive years.

The chicks are likely to hatch in around a month’s time and will live on the balcony for several more weeks until they are ready to fly. Until then De Heus has pledged to stay off the balcony. ‘I would hate it if the eggs did not hatch because of me,’ she said.