Hello!
Welcome to the 2016 KestrelCam season! We're back with a brand-new camera courtesy of Bosch, and a new streaming platform on Youtube. If you notice the two cams are out of sync, 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.
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-Delora Hilleary
Comments:
Do I see smoke coming up from
Do I see smoke coming up from near that house in the outside camera?
Second and third egg hatched!
Second and third egg hatched!!
At least one of the remaining
At least one of the remaining 2 eggs is pipping; I saw motion at the opening (the dark slot-shaped place on the most obvious egg in Delora's picture) in the egg while the female was feeding the 3 chicks.
We can hardly keep up today,
We can hardly keep up today, haha!
(No subject)
At about 15:55 this afternoon
At about 15:55 this afternoon, after she finished feeding the chicks, the female briefly left the nest. While she was gone, the male came in and brooded the chicks. The female returned and had to struggle with him to get him off the nest so she could take over. Since then, he's been on and off the overhang. Just now, at 16:06, he poked his head in the door. but was not welcomed, and flew off.
Why? Is she refusing his food
Why? Is she refusing his food? Is this typical behavior?
It's typical when she is not
It's typical when she is not hungry! I suspect she cached the extra food somewhere when she flew off.
Newborn kestrels have egg yolk inside their bodies still, so they don't necessarily require a ton of feeding at first, since they live off that yolk to get a kickstart for the first few days. It doesn't hurt to have some extra in their bellies, however!
Here's a nice youtube video I
Here's a nice youtube video I made of the fourth chick hatching and getting fed! :)
Whoops, the male just
Whoops, the male just startled the female and she shoved one of the chicks away by accident.
Male wanted to sit on it but she quickly retrieved it XD,
Ha! We saw that too!! Now the
Ha! We saw that too!! Now the chick is all safe and warm!
Yes :D, looking back in the
Yes :D, looking back in the video, it looks like she actually pulled it away with her beak as the male was about to enter the box.
I just saw the male enter the
I just saw the male enter the box, and the female took out a chick and showed it to the male. Then she took it back and put it under herself. The male then perched in the cavity and flew away.
Good morning to you and to
Good morning to you and to our kestrel family! I just saw mama feed the chicks and it looks as if egg # 5 still has not hatched yet. Come on, number 5!
What is the likelihood of an egg not hatching? I hope e are not in for what would be tragic to us....
Infertile or dud eggs are
Infertile or dud eggs are uncommon, but like any other bird species, they do occur in American Kestrels. I wouldn't count the last egg out just yet, however! In previous years, hatching happened two or three days. This is the first year of the KestrelCam where four hatched all at once!
zoomed in a bit too much?
zoomed in a bit too much?
Seems so! I adjusted the
Seems so! I adjusted the windowing a bit, so it looks fine again.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Looks like the fifth egg is
Looks like the fifth egg is pipping!
Yum. Snake for dinner!
Yum. Snake for dinner!
Kestrels do love to eat
Kestrels do love to eat reptiles! :)
Female just flew out with the
Female just flew out with the snake leftovers.
Fifth chick just hatched :D!
Fifth chick just hatched :D!
Wow! It sounds like it's
Wow! It sounds like it's blowing a gale in Boise.
Indeed! We locals are hoping
Indeed! We locals are hoping the wind dies down soon. It's making it hard to hike and garden!
My class of 5 year old were
My class of 5 year old were thrilled to see the babies get fed today! We will continue to watch them until the end of school!
Awesome to hear, glad you
Awesome to hear, glad you guys are tuning in!
Have you ever had other
Have you ever had other species nest in the box, like woodpeckers?
While we have had some
While we have had some flickers check out the nest box, they are too large to fit through the hole. Other species prefer more wooded areas. Nest box placement really makes or breaks it for kestrels.
Starlings made attempts to nest in the nest box before, but so far the kestrels successfully ejected them or beat them to it!
Thanks for the enhanced
Thanks for the enhanced colors this year. Finally we can admire the beautiful birds in their full color.
One of the chicks is not eating. Probably the youngest one. Let's hope he/she has some yolk supply left.
Thankfully I saw all the
Thankfully I saw all the chicks eating today.
Is it my imagination, or is
Is it my imagination, or is it getting pretty difficult for the female to brood those nestlings? And preen simultaneously? They keep poking their little heads out from under her. They have already changed so much since hatching, seems to me.
Yes they are poking their
Yes they are poking their little heads out quite often!
Indeed! Imagine growing from
Indeed! Imagine growing from a newborn to your full body size in around 20 days. That's what these little kestrels do!
Their bodies will be adult-sized in around 20-25 days, and then it's another 10 days for their feathers to grow in enough for flight. :)
I see a small insect crawling
I see a small insect crawling around in the nest box. I wish momma would wake up and eat it!
How do you write something in
How do you write something in the reports that is not on the drop down menu?
You may write your
You may write your observations here! All comments have a handy timestamp :)
I know but some people are
I know but some people are writing reports that aren't on the drop down?
Do you have an example of one
Do you have an example of one such report? :)
I saw the male kestrel
I saw the male kestrel passing food to the female kestrel on the top of the roof, she took it then to the chicks.
BTW it is often difficult to retrieve the reports of other people.
2016-05-02 11:10:43:
2016-05-02 11:10:43: JillfromMN sees a little hatchling peeking out from under its' mother's wing as saw the female kestrel sleeping.
@Terri - Huh, that is
@Terri - Huh, that is interesting. I forwarded it to our web admin.
@cb - Do you mean that the other reports don't load? Does refreshing fix it?
I have to close the web site,
I have to close the web site, go back in again and then click on other people's report. then it shows. Once I report or click on my reports I cannot get it.
One of ther many things i hate on the report sheet is the inability to correct mkistakes. Just now i reported that i saw the male kestrek feed the chicks which is nonsense. it was the female one and it is going to skew the results or make me look like an idiot.
Hi! I'll let the web admin
Hi! I'll let the web admin know.
And don't worry about skewing the results! If you make a mistake, simply resubmit with the correct one. No worries :)
YES, such as it looks like
YES, such as it looks like one of the five babies is not getting fed and may be getting suffocated by the others... (!)
One of them seems not to get
One of them seems not to get any food indeed. But unfortunately, life seems to be very rough on kestrels and many other birds in the first 12 months. I think like 60% perish in that time, if not more.
I think 2 didn't get any food
I think 2 didn't get any food that time. :( Not looking good for the one little guy.
Do you just let them die? I know it's nature but still.
My class of 4 and 5 year olds
My class of 4 and 5 year olds will be devastated if some of them don't make it. I'll have to think about that.
I think it was 2 years ago
I think it was 2 years ago when the youngest died. It really depends on the mother how she manages to distribute the food equally. Some seem to be better with that than others.
Indeed, life can be difficult
Indeed, life can be difficult for birds of prey (or any animal) rearing young. Studies show that American Kestrel females tend to lose weight while caring for 5 nestlings. The healthier the parents, the more likely they will lose weight and deliver more food, which means that healthy adults put more effort into raising all five.Skinnier adults adults are less likely to lose any more weight, and tend to deliver less food overall.
Brood reduction is not uncommon, and appears to be effected by both food availability and weather. When parents selectively exclude the youngest chick in favor of feeding the elders, this behavior is called "food provisioning." It is typical in those situations for the chick in question to be cannibalized. For kestrel parents, it is the more important to ensure their best chicks survive and fledge.
For this brood, all five nestlings appear to be alert and healthy so far, and I've personally witnessed all five being fed at varying times of the day. It is important, however, to keep in mind that these are wild animals, and they are not aware that they are being observed. We are lucky to have the technology to get a fascinating and educational glimpse into the daily lives of wild animals, and one must remember that the realities of life can be occasionally harsh, whether we are watching or not.
So far all five seem to be the same size, and prey is being brought several times a day. I think so far, so good! :)
-D