Hello! Welcome to the 2017 KestrelCam season!
We're back with a great camera courtesy of Bosch, and a new streaming platform on Youtube. If you notice a problem with streaming, try refreshing the page and restarting the streams. If you have technical issues or any other kind of issue, please use the contact staff link to get assistance. Please feel free to report any spam or disrespect to AKP staff.
Remember to be respectful and courteous to other viewers, and enjoy the show!
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:
They will be mostly gone, but
They will be mostly gone, but they often return to the nest box at night especially, to use as a safe roost. From here on out, the kestrels will be learning how to hunt and fly, and the parents will continue to feed and take care of them until they get proficient at surviving on their own.
Everybody gone ! Need a
Everybody gone ! Need a Kestrel hatchling fix ??
Link to http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html
Thanks, Nu-Sun Cinema
One charming little hatchling
One charming little hatchling. Thank you, we will keep tabs on Baby. So sad about the other eggs...
Thanks for watching everyone!
Thanks for watching everyone! We'll see if these nestlings come back to roost and rest. Otherwise, into the big exciting world they go! I'll leave the cams up for if and when they come back.
From here on out, the nestlings will be cared for and fed by the adults until they can survive on their own. They become a little roaming pack, essentially, with the parents keeping an eye out while they hunt. By the time fall comes around, these four nestlings should be out on their own.
Thanks everyone for the kind words :)
Missed tthem this time. The
Missed tthem this time. The very first year i watched the cam I was lucky to see all 5 fledging. But they never fledged as a group, all of them, lol.
Two things:
Two things:
1. My impression is that the weather there was colder/wetter this year than normally. the desert looks greener.. If so,k how would it affect the food suply for the kestrels?
2. I do not rmember when they fledged in previous years, but is it possible that having only 4 chicks made them grow faster/stronger?
Indeed, we had a record for
Indeed, we had a record for snowfall this last winter, and a very wet spring follow-up. The Boise River has been above the flood stage for a long while, and it seems likely to stay that way until August. It's hard to say what that will do for kestrels, however. My own personal vague observation has been that the big insects are a bit late coming out this year, and I mostly observed rodent food being delivered right up until the few days before fledging.
It is normal for kestrels to fledge at about 27-31 days old, and this set was right on the money, fledging at day 29! They are well within the normal range. Number of nestlings does not appear to impact fledge timing.
It looks like nobody i8s
It looks like nobody i8s coming back for the night this year.
I'll be curious to see
I'll be curious to see tomorrow night. Sometimes it takes nestlings a bit to get flight-capable enough to fly up to a second-story nest box again after leaving.
They did not come back this
They did not come back this night either , but they seem to frequent the box in the morning hours. Unfortunately, without sound, I usually do not catch them but other people reported them. But i remember another year when they did not come back to the box for over night either.
At what nestling age does the
At what nestling age does the female typically stop sleeping in the box with her nestlings? My 8- & 9-day chicks were left alone last night. I'm hoping she didn't leave because the ants we have in the box, which have been very active!
It depends on weather
It depends on weather oftentimes, but it seems nestlings begin to thermoregulate themselves around when their shoulder feathers begin growing in. Once they can keep themselves warm, the female stops roosting in the nest box - unless it's a particularly cold night.
OK, thanks. The chicks are
OK, thanks. The chicks are still too tiny for feathers, but we live in a warm climate. It gets down into the low 60s at night but much toastier (90s) during the day. I guess I'm over thinking--surely, the parents know what to do. I guess coincident with the ant problem we have, I was hoping the female didn't get chased off from her motherly duties!
So sad to see the box empty
So sad to see the box empty but also happy to have them all grown and fledged safely! Will be making a donation to help pay for a new microphone! Thanks for all you do Delora, I really enjoyed the chats this year!
Thank you so much! I'm so
Thank you so much! I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed it, and it was great to have the live chats! Thanks for joining in :)
We'll be taking a close look at the wiring in a while, to figure out what happened to the mic. We'll keep you in the loop when we do!
I'm going to miss these nestlings, but there will be a next year! :)
Where did the egg come from??
Where did the egg come from??
It's been there the whole
It's been there the whole time. And didn't get broken or hatched. :(
I did not know that it was
I did not know that it was the same one. Must have been hidden unddr the mulch for a while, lol.
Look at the egg just sitting
Look at the egg just sitting there right in the middle of the box.
How sad.
We have 2 sad & unhatched
We have 2 sad & unhatched eggs in our box. :(
But 2 chicks who seem to be doing OK! :)
Sweet and forlorn,
Small, stilled and forlorn,
A precious hope unrealized,
A tiny egg
Laid by a devoted bird,
Surrounded in its hopeless beauty
By four devoted snow-white siblings as they grew,
A pearl unsullied,
A vision sad;
A kestrel hope frozen.
Lovely! Jill you said just
Lovely! Jill you said just what I was thinking. Thank you.
So welcome, my dear. Yet we
So welcome, my dear. Yet we can rejoice too, in the thriving Kestrel Kids. I hope they gain the stamina to fly up and visit the ledge sometime, or that we can hear little 'killys' and chitters when the microphone is fixed! :)
Our little one is growing
Our little one is growing fast 10 days old on June 5/17
Link to watch http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html
Enjoy, Nu-Sun Cinema
Little baby Kestrel is so
Little baby Kestrel is so beautiful, and may be a female after all, but time will tell. There sure is a lot of room in the nest box to stretch legs and wings!
Our little Great Northern
Our little Great Northern Kessie is huddling in a corner, much like the Minnesota Peregrines on their site do in a way 'all by themselves.' Does that lend some warmth, or is baby hardy by now?
PS: I do believe this is a little male. If I could name him he would be Gord.
All good wishes to our good Canadian Kestrel Partners!
You know, the unhatchableness
You know, the unhatchableness of eggs might tie into a rate statistic. What I hope is that it's not a trend at all! Kestrels have it difficult enough.
But we love em.... :)
Hopefully not a trend! I also
Hopefully not a trend! I also had 2 unhatched eggs from the 4 that were laid. 2 chicks are doing OK, but this is my first time with an occupied nest box. Since our kestrel pair seemed to get a bit of a later start than some (e.g., Idahoans), and the male spent many weeks wooing the female, we thought this might be a very young or new pair. Ultimately, we don't have enough data on our property to be able to tell you whether this is "normal" for our area. Time will tell, though. Hoping they come back again!
A kestrel fly by. They keep
A kestrel fly by. They keep on excersizing.
Kestrels around. One, i think
Kestrels around. One, i think female fledgling on the roof ( not on the box though) , other one flying by, other one landing in the tree.
Much easier when you can hear their chirping. Hopefully njext year again.
Good to see the family training together.
I miss the babies! I haven't
I miss the babies! I haven't seen them once since they left. Why is the male coming in and turning the egg like it's being reported?
Babies are around a lot,
Babies are around a lot, since we do no t hear them we often miss them. But from the other years, especially the first several days, I used to hear their chirping all the time. Just saw a few of them Not sure about the male, I did not see that myself, maybe he is just confused or curious about an egg at this time.
Our female has 2 chicks. For
Our female has 2 chicks. For the 2 unhatched eggs she occasionally turns and sits on...I wondered if she has not given up hope they will hatch even though most of the time she is feeding the 2 chicks...
I wonder if there will
I wonder if there will eventually be another clutch? It may take a little longer to hone the little ones' hunting skills...
Like this year? I cannot
Like this year? I cannot imagine that. The juvs have to be grown up and independent before the winter hits because that's when the misery starts.
I guess it's a female
I guess it's a female fledgling resting on the roof.
this one might be the male
this one might be the male chick on the roof. i wish i could zoom in, lol.
wonder why thestreaming so
wonder why thestreaming so often switches to 140 pixels. you see nothing with that. it should stay at 720 .
the audio was back for a few
the audio was back for a few minutes
and i could hear kestrels callimg!
Indeed, I noticed our mic is
Indeed, I noticed our mic is working again. After the nestlings fledged, of course - that's how it works, right? Hahaha.
I've been noticing some kestrels coming and going, only occasionally however. I see them about the World Center for Birds of Prey campus, however! I can hear juveniles begging for food often.
Well, the good news did not
Well, the good news did not last long- the microphone is dead again.
But they keep on coming at times, just I did not catch them going into the box.
On edit : Is suddenly on again, but somewhat screechy.
kestrel ju7v on the roof
kestrel ju7v on the roof vocalizing
Our little one is growing
Our little one is growing fast 15 days old on June 10/17 Get a look before fledge.
Link to watch http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html
Enjoy, Nu-Sun Cinema
Such a magnificent little
Such a magnificent little birdie! I do enjoy seeing this tiny kestrel at the elegant stage - a little sleepy. What strong legs!
Our nestling is doing great.
Our nestling is doing great. Junior is getting ready for some feather plucking for DNA test/Genoscape.
Photo, Mom feeding junior on June 11/17.
Link to our live stream http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html
We will notify all when we are plucking feathers and all can watch it live !!
Have a great day, Nu-Sun Cinema
A lovely, alert little bird!
A lovely, alert little bird! It now looks to me from the tail feathers and the growing primaries that this is a male.
Making a donation. Thank you
Making a donation. Thank you for a great Kestrel Season!
Started a Givalanche!
More about Nu-Sun's beautiful
More about Nu-Sun's beautiful little male - he has a wonderful strong little chortling call that sounds like he's ravenous! No brothers or sisters, no fights...
Hi All, This weekend June
Hi All, This weekend June 17or18 (weather permitting, lots of rain here.) we will be plucking junior. We will remove a couple of breast feathers for DNA sampling.
Watch it live on our stream. http://www.nu-sun.com/html/2017_report.html
Have a good day and thanks all for the comments, Nu-Sun Cinema
ouch.
ouch.