Hello! Welcome to the 2017 KestrelCam season!
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Stay on the lookout for live chats this year, every Tuesday and Thursday at noon MST. I'll be chatting with everyone to answer any and all questions.
Click here to view this thread with the most recent comments on top!
-Delora Hilleary
Comments:
No food for the chicks from
No food for the chicks from Mama..... :.....(
A couple of the nestlings got
A couple of the nestlings got big bites just now. Still chirping as Mama tries to brood them.
LOL camera's not offline. It
LOL camera's not offline. It's been squirted!
ANother selection to add
ANother selection to add
The inside camera "got squirted".
LOL
Oh, my, my, my. I had a
Oh, my, my, my. I had a feeling this was going to happen. Oh, those Kestrel Kids.
Indeed! They did it right
Indeed! They did it right when I was leaving for the day, too! I'll clean it once I get in tomorrow.
I'm interested in this sort
I'm interested in this sort of transitional phase, where the chicks are so hungry they practically attack the parent who is trying to feed them...thus the parental change of behaviour from feeding to delivering. Safer.
I'm also fascinated by how the chicks shove each other around trying to find THE perfect snuggling position (I'm assuming this is for warmth, very visible when no parent kestrels are in the box).
AND I'm fond of watching the chicks' clumsy preening techniques. Those new feathers must be starting to itch. Noticed the female contributing occasionally to their grooming.
Ok, better get back to my work, this is such an amazing way to get sidetracked.
I'm glad you're enjoying it!
I'm glad you're enjoying it! This is a fun phase, isn't it? The nestlings are becoming alert and active, and beginning to behave like kestrels. It won't be long before they start to feed themselves!
Tugging on food like that is a great way to strengthen their neck muscles, I'm sure.
Shauna - how fascinating it
Shauna - how fascinating it is to see these tiny birds grow, you are so right. I call this the elegant stage, once the back feathers start coming in. I am also looking at their tails to see if I can't tell the birds' gender.
It will be another milestone once the deliveries aren't beak fed and the little ones chow down by themselves, won't it? Neat to see you chime in!
It seems like overnight the
It seems like overnight the scapular feathers on the nestlings just sprouted! Scapulars are the feathers on the shoulder of a bird, and they're quite visible now as black spotting. It won't be long before we can tell the sex of the nestlings!
Actually, doing some careful
Actually, doing some careful watching...I believe I can see one male and one female at least. Those tails are tiny but they are starting to look distinctive.
It is sooooooo cute to see
It is sooooooo cute to see those tails wiggle, in true kestrel fashion! All I have been able to tell so far is that at least two differ from one another. I look forward to seeing the Kestrel Kids tonight. Later, folks... :)
That's the first time this
That's the first time this year I have seen the little ones not huddled together but lolling beneath the ledge. And there may be a little lady's tail....
One ravenous victorious
One ravenous victorious Kestrel Kid mantling dinner at about 7:45 Boise time.... still trying to manage it for several minutes as of 7:54.
Finally sharing at 7:57.
I also see one episode of
I also see one episode of 'tweet' on the lens, and a possible female with her little tail in the air....
Two possible females.....
Two possible females.....
Yes I see them also. great
Yes I see them also. great shot of them right now!
and the one betweeen them
and the one betweeen them looks like it could be male.
I believe I see two males and
I believe I see two males and two females....let's see if we have it right!
Sorry about the bit of "tweet" there, I'll clean it on Monday or sooner if it gets worse.
DO you think they are feeding
DO you think they are feeding them all? I hardly ever see the one smaller get some food.
I saw the smaller one get
I saw the smaller one get some food that time!
To all our Kestrel Parnership
To all our Kestrel Parnership Friends. We have been having some dificulty with our live stream and are asking for your help.
Click on our link to stream http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html and let us know if is working properly as in not refreshing constantly or stopping & starting constantly. This would be a great help to us. We would like to rectify any problems before the hatch starts, which could be on May 27/2017.
Thank you very much for your cooperation, Nu-Sun Cinema
In spite the chicks' obliging
In spite the chicks' obliging tendancy to stay in a visible corner, two squirts are making it harder. Sorry, Delora.
and another bullseye squirt!
and another bullseye squirt!
Dangit, and here I was hoping
Dangit, and here I was hoping the protective cone we put up there would help more! I'll try to drive up there today.
Thank you for cleaning things
Thank you for cleaning things up! Much better.
OK, that didn't last long.
OK, that didn't last long.
No momma in the box this
No momma in the box this morning.
poop alert!
poop alert!
OMG! It was your hand
OMG! It was your hand cleaning the camera! Thanks!
Look at the chick fighting
Look at the chick fighting mom for the food!
I noticed that too! Fiesty
I noticed that too! Fiesty little male!
What I can see of these
What I can see of these beautiful little chicks is that they are growing nicely. Such wings in the making!
The tweet trajectory is off to the side and we do manage to see something.... (and necessity is the mother of invention!) Delora, thanks so much again for all you do.
oh look! One is trying to do
oh look! One is trying to do jumping!!! So cute!
It's hot there today isn't it
It's hot there today isn't it? 87? Is that why they have thier mouths open?
Yes, they are panting because
Yes, they are panting because it's hot, just like dogs do.
I don't seem to have sound
I don't seem to have sound anymore?
Indeed, our mic seems to have
Indeed, our mic seems to have gone kaput. We plan on fiddling with the microphone while the chicks are being banded. Hopefully it didn't die entirely!
This is truly the first day I
This is truly the first day I could describe the Kestrel Kids as standing upright. Terri - I do notice the open beaks a lot. So cute, but like you I hope it's not so hot that the chicks are uncomfortable. If the comments are anything to go by they were being fed insects or rodents about once an hour today and I wonder if they're getting enough to eat. No chow reports for nearly two hours.
As for the two bigger chicks, their little heads are at ledge level!
The female just peeked into
The female just peeked into the nest and left..... 9:10 Boise time.
Whew! I can sleep tonight
Whew! I can sleep tonight after all, the chicks were fed.
Da Gangsta Kessies got
Da Gangsta Kessies got hardware today! How did the banding go? :)
so? what's the scoop? male
so? what's the scoop? male/female?
We have three females and one
We have three females and one male! So I wasn't just imagining things when I thought I saw a male before ;)
All four seem to be in good condition with little fat deposits, despite the 2-day age difference between the oldest and youngest.
Another neat thing:
Another neat thing:
A few days ago, we also captured the adult female and got her band number! We discovered she was caught and banded in 2016 as a breeder 5.5 miles away! So this is not the first batch of nestlings this female raised.
That is so exciting to hear!
That is so exciting to hear! Thanks!
I am delighted that this
I am delighted that this happened, just as you wished. This is what bands are for.
I am delighted that this
(duplicate)
Questions: What is the ideal
Questions: What is the ideal chick age for banding those nestlings (scratch this one, just read webcam update)? How long does the banding process last? How do the adult birds react when you take the chicks out of the box, and when you band them? Can they see the process? Also, how do you go about banding adult birds? Do you have a special adult kestrel banding trap?
(A little over-curious here.)
You know, Shauna, those are
You know, Shauna, those are great questions.... I hope to ask my local Raptor Center if they are sending feather DNA samples to the Genoscape Project, because they have had 5 kestrel patients this year.
I wonder if there are lots of 'contact calls' made by the parents while their chicks are being banded.... 'Kill-eee! killee, killee... Kill-ee?'