Say hello to my little friend

[Dotch]

Taken with my cell phone camera but couldn't resist posting this here first. This is the female kestrel that has been setting on the clutch of 5 eggs in the wood duck nesting box near our wetland. She was very cooperative about letting me slowly remove her from the nesting box tonight and only tried once to take a fingertip off. Leather gloves are a must. It is amazing just how tiny these little falcons are as evidenced by the latch on the nesting box. I don't have real big hands either but my feet are huge!!! I gently placed her back on her nest and she settled back in. It shouldn't be too much longer and the eggs should hatch. Will try to get some photos of the little urchins as they develop.

[LeeKen]

Beautiful bird!

[eyeguy 54]

hello little freind nice!

[MuleShack]

Interesting, and thanks for sharing!

Looking forward to seeing the progression.

[supermono]

I'm a big fan of Kestrels. I'm curious though, why did you have to handle bird? Was there something wrong with the nest?

[Jim Almquist]

That is very cool!!!

Can not wait to see shots of the chicks.

My wife calls me the bird whisperer. On Sunday I held a Sparrow and a Junco. They will get spooked and fly into the garage and try to get out the back windows. I have to catch them and send them out the front. I have even held a Hummingbird that flew into are screen porch and was stuck.

[MN Shutterbug]

Awesome. I'm also amazed at the clarity of this cell phone pic.

This is one bird that I've actually given up on as far as getting a photo in the wild. They are seen on high line wires 98% of the time, and the other 2% you can't get anywhere near them. They are gorgeous, as proven in this pic.

[finnbay]

They are a very pretty bird! Great shot!

[Dbl]

That is very cool!

[Get'n Jiggy]

[Dotch]

I'm a big fan of Kestrels. I'm curious though, why did you have to handle bird? Was there something wrong with the nest?

I've grown up around kestrels and always been fascinated by their behavior as well as that of other small raptors. In addition to kestrels, we've had screech owls, Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks as frequent and welcome visitors at our humble farming establishment.

Actually I was concerned something might have been wrong with the kestrel. Over the past weekends when I've been close to the wood duck house, she's blasted out of there like a missile. When I went down to the wetland this time, I was driving a noisy diesel ATV which I was sure would've spooked her off the nest. It didn't and when I opened the box, she hunched down almost like she was injured. To be sure I removed her to examine her and she appeared to be fine, bright eyed and feisty at first anyway. She calmed down quickly and the handling was very brief, less than a minute. Some people will take potshots at hawks sitting on wires in these parts and that's something that disturbs me a great deal. The eggs she's been sitting on should be hatching one of these days and suspect that may be why she was hanging so tight in the nesting box. The last egg was laid on April 9th or 10th if I recall correctly. I won't bother her for another week when I go check on the progress of the vegetation in the CRP after this spring's burn. They need their space just like any other wild creature.

Like Jim, I've developed a knack for handling birds and for some reason they generally seem to trust me. I've done the obligatory feeding the chickadee on the finger trick as well as warming a late migrating hummingbird in the palm of my hand one October morning. It was cool watching it warm up, fly to the nectar feeder in my other hand, then land on my finger or hand again. I was late to the office as a result but it was worth it. My only regret was I didn't get a video of it because it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life. Part of why I photographed the kestrel.

Thanks for all the kind comments about the photo, guys!

[Dotch]

Now I have two friends! The first hatchling in the wood duck, er, kestrel house. Lots of large moths such as cutworm and armyworm out and about and boat loads of forage loopers and webworms for smaller moths for mom to catch for the baby (hopefully babies) to eat. Won't hurt my feelings if they get a crack at a house sparrow and mouse or two while they're at it.

[MN Shutterbug]

Awesome. Congrats Grandpa. I'll bet you're pretty proud.

[Dotch]

Why thanks Uncle Mike! Be curious to see what's in the box by next weekend.

[BLACKJACK]

One year we had kestrels in a wood duck box on my driveway. Neat thing was when they fledged, they spent a day using my deck as perches to survey the countryside. They do mess up a nest box though!!

[Dotch]

That's pretty cool! Boy, you got that right about the mess. This is probably the 3rd brood in this house. They toss out almost all the cedar chips 1st so they're almost right down to the floor. They're not very good housekeepers either so it's just plain nasty in there by the time they leave. I'll take the house down this fall, dig out the big chunks, pressure wash it out then let it dry in the heated garage for a few months. Can't wait to hear Mrs. Cheviot say "What stinks in here?"

[Dotch]

Was on the run much of today being Mother's Day and all, not unlike the female kestrel. It's difficult to see from the picture but all 5 of the kestrel eggs hatched. All the babies appear to be healthy and well nourished. Kinda cute little tykes, very vocal. Have not seen the male but am guessing he's around someplace, I just haven't had time to sit still long enough to see him. Hope he's around because the female's gonna need all the help she can get keeping this crew fed.

[Dbl]

Cool!!!!

[finnbay]

That is so great!

[Jim Almquist]

That is very cool!!!

[TonkaBass]

Awesome pictures! Ive never seen a chick kestrel before. Thanks

[SirFishalot]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[Dotch]

This week's edition finds all 5 babies still intact and growing like mad. As you can see it's starting to get crowded in there and they're beginning to move towards the ugly stage. 1 seems to have be the dominant chick as its mouth is always open. I'm thinkin' that one's a female. Actually in the 2nd pic, it was probably telling me to shut the door as there was a pretty stiff NW breeze blowing in their space. They are all starting to pick up the kestrel call when the box is opened, not just peeping like last week. I may have caught a glimpse of the male for the first time tonight just leaving the nesting box as I approached. The sun was awfully bright though and from that distance I couldn't be certain. This was a very gratifying trip to the wetland as after I finished spying on the kestrels, I went over to check the wood duck house I put in on Easter Sunday. Much to my surprise a wood duck had a nest, new since I checked it 2 weeks ago. One more reason to keep going down there at least once a week.

[MN Shutterbug]

Thanks for sharing and nice portrait.

[dockothebay]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing the journey --