Well, the end is near for these posts.

I went out to the Red-tailed hawk nest on Wed., only to find it empty. I did not hear or see the little one out on one of it's trial flights, but I'm quite sure he/she is around. It may also have been up on a limb that I couldn't see, as the foliage on the trees is now quite full.

There was continued good news from the Kestrel box, however. The evil four-lettered "W" word (work) had kept me from keeping to my weekly schedule, and what a difference it made.

Last time I went to the box, there were four white puffballs - this week there are 4 very cute chicks in near full color plumage. There are two males and two females - the males have the blue/grey wings, the females have the brown wings.

Here's what it looked like when I opened the box. It's getting quite cramped in there - wait till next week!



Here's a closeup:



I gave one of the females it's first view of the "real world". It's been used to seeing the inside of the box and a little sunlight coming through the main and vent holes since hatching. Fully grown, these birds will be about the size of a Blue Jay (9-12" tall).



Thanks for visiting. - E

Thanks again !! My mother had made me a drawing ( colored pencil) of a kestrel which I treasure and it's nice to compare it with photos.The other larger raptors are much easier to see so kestrels often go unnoticed. One year I decided to look for kestrels, I thought they were rare here .Not at all , there were many and the favorite spot seems to be on a telephone line overlooking a field. They also hover often like the marshhawk (harrier ,that's why the fighter jet got the name). One neat thing is that the voles in the field leave a trail of urine that reflects ultraviolet light and the kestrel can see UV !!

Those little eyasses are just priceless! They are very common here, living mostly on large insects, like grasshoppers with the occasional rodent and . . . if the little hunter is very bold . . . English sparrows!

Outstanding! I too look forward to your updates.

Cool pictures!

My son and I built a kestral box and mounted it at the peak of the roof gable some 10 years ago. It has served nicely each year to shelter a brood of Kestrals. Some years only one, other years three. Last year our big orange tabby "Fatz" nailed one of the fledgling males just days after he left the box. My wife used to love to watch him sit on the back fence rails. Was a sad day for all including Fatz who was "in the doghouse" for days. The other fledgling however grew nicely and used to sit on a fence right outside our bedroom window each day for several weeks. We saw her (or another?) only last month in the same spot - what a nice surprise!
Jeff P