General Discussion : How much does a Kestrel eat per year?

Does anyone know of any reports that have a number for the amount of prey that a kestrel eat per year? The number of gophers eaten by a Barn Owl eats per year exists, but I'm not running across this type of number for the American Kestrel. Any links to reports would be appreciated. - Bill

Comments:

Bill

Permalink Submitted by bootsfarm@gmail.com on Tue, 02/10/2015 - 12:09

Bill

They eat generally between 15-25 grams a day depending on the size of the bird, the temperature, and the amount of activity the bird is doing. So during the grasshopper season that's a pile of grasshopper, then as the insects fade and the rodents become a primary food source you're looking at 1-2 mice per day or a sparrow or two per day in the winter depending on how picky of an eater the bird is. Some eat only the breast and innards and discard the rest and some of the birds eat the entire prey every time. But if you're looking for a number in mice it averages out to between 1.5 and 1.75 mice per day all year round. So up to 700 mice per year per bird roughly in my experience. As a falconer I feed my bird about 2-2.5 mice per day since they're 'prepared frozen mice' rather than whole live ones.

- Kevin

Thanks for the awesome and

Permalink Submitted by Delorahilleary on Tue, 02/10/2015 - 15:51

Thanks for the awesome and detailed info!

Posted in General Discussion by Bill 9 years 9 months ago.