American Kestrels!
“The colorful American Kestrel, the smallest—and some say the fiercest—falcon on the continent, has lost half its population in the past 50 years. A recent study suggests the bird is shrinking in body size, too, giving scientists new clues as to the cause of the puzzling population decline.” (allaboutbirds.org)
A few years ago, Carl put up a kestrel house to the south east of our hill. The kestrels have snubbed that house, but remained to nest elsewhere, calling their shrill call and feasting on the moles and voles that feast on our raspberry (roots) and potatoes.
This year, the Harris Center asked us for permission to put up another kestrel house; it’s a beautiful home that waves in the breeze to the east of our field. It, too, was snubbed. But I guess birds, like humans, like to have the power of choice.
A kestrel couple moved into Carl’s offering this spring. Neither the Harris Center nor we are territorial about these things. We just want the kestrels to thrive.
Carl read me an article—or at least part of it because I got overwhelmed and depressed by the third paragraph—on crickets and why their populations are declining so rapidly: the wheat. It is growing vigorously with all the CO2 in the air, but lacks the nutritional value that crickets depend on. And kestrels eat crickets.
But they eat everything so maybe that’s not the reason for their shrinking bodies and population.
In any case, ours are doing great; their five babies have fledged. Below are some photos and videos from the day the guys from the Harris Center came to band them. Stressful for both the birds and me, but everyone survived the experience. (Though Bird Conservation Director Phil Brown’s hands will carry scars. Apparently, even baby kestrel talons are talons.)
Here’s more information on kestrels if you want to read about them: Read More at allaboutbirds.org.
