Good morning everyone! This topic has been created for you to discuss events you see on the Bosch KestrelCams. Please ask questions, post observations and share knowledge about what our kestrels do during this 2015 nesting season.
If you prefer to see postings displayed with the most recent at the top, go to http://hub.peregrinefund.org/akp-2015-cams-discussion
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A moment ago, Pa and Ma
A moment ago, Pa and Ma kestrel were 'chatting' back and forth. Ma kestrel was in the box but Pa kestrel was outside. I couldn't see where he was located (somewhere off camera but nearby) but could hear his 'chirps.'
Before the 'conversation,' Pa kestrel delivered an insect to Ma kestrel (7:11 PM PDT). She promptly took it and flew outside the box. Pa followed her. Ma returned to the box about five or so minutes later (7:18 PM PDT).
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At about 10:25, the female
At about 10:25, the female was incubating the eggs. The male flew to the doorway, calling. There was a brief exchange of calls, then the female flew to the door, the male flew down to the wall corner, where she joined him. They briefly mated, she flew off, and the male entered the box where he is now (10:31) incubating the eggs.
Does the mating mean we might expect another egg?
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Thanks, Bill. It's really
Thanks, Bill. It's really nice to have someone with your knowledge and experience participating in the forum.
How can you tell the
How can you tell the difference between rearranging the bedding and turning the eggs? I'm assuming that when I see her rocking from side to side accompanied by the sound of her talons (?) scraping the floor that she is rearranging the bedding.
There's also a sort of shimmy she often does when she sits down on the eggs. Can she/does she turn the eggs with her feet or only with her beak?
It would be very rare that a
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I saw the male kestrel
I saw the male kestrel sitting outside the nest box, on the ledge, at 8:06 PM Boise time tonight, as the female sat on the eggs. Instinct to be together during this period noted. It would be so easy to anthropomorphize.... gotta watch that.
Around 4:30 PM Boise time it was very noisy as the female sat on the eggs - almost like a terrible wind howling. How well do birds hear at that frequency, I wonder? She looked unperturbed.
Both adults take on a particular sitting posture upon the eggs - tails propped up against the nestbox wall. Is this because it covers more?
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Thank you so much! Your
Thank you so much! Your observations and your willingness to share them add to my enjoyment of these kestrels. I just saw the male trying to get some rest as he incubates the eggs.
By the way - five eggs again this year. Either there will be enough food out there to sustain five little birds or, sadly to our eyes, there won't. Is Boise experiencing similar conditions to California with their drought?
I'm sorry you've removed your
I'm sorry you've removed your informative posts, Bill. I enjoyed reading them and learned from them.
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7:05 - male is in the box on
7:05 - male is in the box on the eggs (eggs are fully covered) facing slightly diagonally with tail towards the opening. The male appears to be sleeping.
12:00 Male arrives with small
12:00 Male arrives with small rodent. Female exits. Male remains in box, standing partly over eggs, pecking at but not, as far as I could see, tearing into prey. Looking at doorway. By 12:02, had moved to right wall where he remained standing until 12:09 when he covered eggs. Continued incubating until 12:12, when he exited box, carrying the rodent.
Weather 11.9 C wind 1.0 mph
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Weather: 4.6 C wind 4 mph
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9:17 - female is in the nest
9:17 - female is in the nest box on the eggs, in an unusual position, she is facing 12 but right up against the near wall of the box so that her tail is actually pressed up vertically up the wall. Her head is tucked in so appears to be sleeping.
There are what sound like some passerine vocalizations coming from outside the box (but I'm not sure what species). I wonder if there are passerines in those conifers visible near the box.
9:18 - with some vocalizations from the male from outside, and answering vocalizations from the female, female gets up and goes to opening and then flew off a few moments after. All 5 eggs visible.
9:20 - more twittering vocalizations audible from outside, and the male appears at the opening and enters the box. Male is now on eggs.
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Here is a question for
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The spots on the back of a
The spots on the back of a kestrel's head are decoy 'eyes'. 'I have eyes in the back of my head, so you can't get away with anything' applies to kestrels, sort of.
Incidentally - male kestrel incubating the eggs, my lower right quadrant, tail pointing to 1:00 PM, at about 3:05 PM.
15:44 male lands on top of
15:44 male lands on top of box—no prey. He makes a call that sounds different to me—more rolling, less chitter-y. After a few seconds, he flies off the front of the box, then right back onto it from the back of the box.
15:46 male gives 3 or 4 more of the “rolling” calls, then flies off.
During the above, the incubating female makes no response.
I have not been watching
I have not been watching consistently today, but my impression from the time I have been "tuned in" is that the male has been on the nest and the female away from the box much more than previously. Do others also have that impression, and if so, any ideas why?
You can confirm your
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have noticed female raptors
have noticed female raptors leaving box for longer period shortly before hatching, when she seems to
confine herself to box again as when incubating.
16:30 female exits box. No
16:30 female exits box. No sight nor sound of male (that I can recognize) beforehand, but…
16:31 male enters box and settles onto eggs.
16:47 pair of doves briefly on wall near box.
16:52 male perches in doorway, returns to nest after 20-30 seconds.
16:56 male exits box.
16:57 female arrives at box, hangs on doorway, gives one call.
16:58 female enters box, settles on eggs.
17:17 male arrives on top of box, calling. female exits, both fly off.
17:18 male returns, enters box, settles on eggs.
17:22 male exits box. I can hear one of them calling in the distance.
17:24 female returns, turns an egg or two and settles into incubation. She makes a couple of the little chirps that I suspect are what make Bill (and me) wonder if she’s talking to the eggs.
20:15 male leaves box; can
20:15 male leaves box; can be heard calling at a distance.
20:16 female enters box, settles on eggs.
20:20 female gives one fairly loud chirp, followed in a few seconds by a much quieter one.
20:34 Male is on top of box.
20:35 Female exits box; male flies off from top of box.
20:36 female returns to box, settles on eggs, gives one chirp as she shimmies down.
20:40 male arrives on top of box with rodent. Female exits box, grabs rodent from male, flies off. This is the first prey exchange I’ve seen today, although as I said earlier, I haven’t been watching all the time.
20:41 male remains on top of box, stomping and scratching around, for about a minute. I have not seen him do this before.
20:42 male flies off from top of box.
20:45 male returns to top of box.
20:46 female returns, turns an egg or two, settles. Three chirps as she does so.
20:49 male flies of from top of box.
Hello from Minnesota!
Hello from Minnesota! Female kestrel sighted incubating her eggs in the lower right hand quadrant, tail at 12:00 but sticking straight up in midair.
Do kestrels show their incubation fatigue by lifting their tails like this, or keeping them upright against the wall?
I haven't heard of incubation
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Hi, Bill - thanks so much
Hi, Bill - thanks so much again for your response! Your diligence is something I really admire, too.
By the way - male kestrel sighted about 12:10 PM Boise time, more in the center, tail at 10:00.
Have a great rest of the day! Jill from MN
09:19 female incubating
09:19 female incubating
09:46 male on top of box, female on eggs, calling back and forth. Female exits, flies off, male follows. Couldn’t see if he had prey.
09:50 male enters box, settles on eggs.
09:52-53 male rotating from f6 to f10 and back to f6, turning eggs
09:58 female enters box. Male exits to wall corner,
09:58-59 female rotates, turning eggs, chirping. Settles into incubating eggs.
10:07 female preens briefly, shimmies, continues incubating, f6.
10:21 turns to f7, shimmies, continues incubating
10:42 female f10 (I missed seeing her switch positions).
10:44 female chirps several times, moves to f12. Male arrives in doorway with (probably) small rodent; then moves to wall corner. Female remains on eggs as they call back and forth.
10:46 male flies away, carrying prey. Female remain in box, f12.
10:48 female rotates to f2, preens, standing, until
10:51 female settles into incubation.
10;52 female resumes preening under wings while sitting on eggs
10:56 female incubating quietly.
15:54 female exits nest.
15:54 female exits nest.
15:55 male enters nest. I saw nor heard anything that indicated he was in the neighborhood, but apparently the female knew.
16:04 female arrives, clings to outside of box. Male exits, flies to wall corner, she follows, they mate. Briefly, she preens, then
16:06 female enters box, incubates eggs while male remains on wall, preening.
16:10 male flies off from wall corner.
Pa and Ma kestrel are both
Pa and Ma kestrel are both still in the box at this time (12:32 PM PDT). I'm not sure if the male wants the female to get up to allow him to incubate the eggs or if he wants to mate with the female. Either way, she isn't budging from her spot in the corner (tail against the wall). She has been 'chirping' at him and occasionally pecking or preening his feathers.
While waiting for the first egg to hatch (should be during the week of May 3rd), I decided to watch a couple of my favorite videos of American Kestrel chicks being fed. The chicks in the videos were rescues.
Video 1: Day old kestrel chick being fed
Video 2: Two-week old kestrel chicks being fed
In the second video, near the end, you can see an older chick mantling the food. Mantling is a term I learned while watching a live Bald Eagle cam. Mantling, in the world of birds, means to hunch over food (kill) to hide it from the view of birds that might want to steal it. Can you imagine spending a lot of time and energy hunting your prey, only for some bird to snatch it away from you? Talk about an 'Oh Snap' moment!
Oh, it looks like Pa kestrel is going to leave.
I think you have calculated
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Thank you for sharing the
Thank you for sharing the videos! It was really something to see the mantling on the part of the 'big one'. Say whatever you will about imprinting via tweezer and no eye contact, the benefactor was fair in human terms making sure everybirdie got well fed. Wonder how easily/successfully the kestrel orphans did experience their release into the wild....
The tweezer feeding is not
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Hi, Bill - you are actually
Hi, Bill - you are actually quite right about the whole issue. While the rehabber did his best so the orphaned birds remained alive, imprinting almost violates a code of wildlife ethics. Wish he had let the chicks feed themselves. Something about picking them up and evenly distributing the food weakens instinct in the birdies...
Another example of imprinting on You Tube - a female eagle described as critically ill being hand fed by a rehabber.
You're welcome!
You're welcome, Jill!
I thought those who have never seen an American kestrel chick up close would enjoy the videos. The orphaned chick in the first video went to a falconer. It would be nice to see how it is doing as well as the three orphans that were released back to the wild. I wonder if those three were placed with an adult kestrel for a time before they were released? It would be nice to know how they are doing. I imagine they must have been banded.
About two years ago, I witnessed a tragedy on a live peregrine falcon cam. The four nestlings were being tormented by black flies. One day, the babies couldn't take it any more. We all watched in horror as, one by one, they stepped off the nest box ledge (on the side of a cliff). They didn't have their feathers! Can you imagine? It was so awful. There was nothing we could do about it. It broke my heart. Three survived the fall. One was located by the Raptor Resource Project. It (turned out to be male) needed medical help. It was nursed back to health and placed in the nest of an older sibling (from a prior brood) that had nestlings of about the same age. We were so happy when we learned that it successfully fledged. The little male's other two siblings also successfully fledged. The parents fed and kept watch over them while they were on the ground.
Addendum: I have no idea why this reply posted in this location. Bizarre.
Weather: 11.1 C wind from
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~ 11:10 female arrives
~ 11:10 female arrives outside box, male rouses, female flies off, male follows.
11:12 female returns, briefly hangs at doorway, enters box, settles fairly quickly into incubation. No chirping throughout.
11:37 preening f3
11:43 rearranges bedding w/ feet. Ends f1-2. No chirps.
11:51 rotates to f7, rearranging bedding/turning eggs?. Continues to f8. No chirps.
11:53 turning eggs? Settles at f6, preens under right wing, upper back. No chirps.
11:56 sleeping? Head tucked under right wing. Breathing quite obvious; tail moves up/down in sync w/ breath.
11:58 Quail calling.
12:08 Male arrives, calling, on top of box with rodent; female leaves box without interacting w/ male. This is the first noted food delivery since 10:44 on 4/21.
12:09 Male flies off, carrying rodent.
12:10 Male enters box without prey, settles on eggs f7. No chirps since 12:08 arrival.
12:33 Mourning dove calls. Male incubating, rotating head. F5
12:34 female touches doorway, flies to wall corner; chirp. Male exits box, joins her. Female flies off.
12:35 Female returns to wall corner. Does a couple of “leaps” above male, landing next to him, repeating, then enters box, settles on eggs, f10. Male flies off. No chirps.
12:46 Male shifts, rustles bedding, remains f10. Magpie seen flying past.
12:47 Male rotates to f7, turning eggs.
12:48 Male rotates to f5, possibly turning egg. Gives one short, high-pitched chirp.
12:51 Magpies (I pretty sure) calling. Sounds as if there are two of them, but I’m no expert on bird calls.
12:57 Male arrives on top of box, toward the back. No calls. [female apparently in box, but further developments indicate that inside/outside box camera are out of sync.] At this point, it appears that sound is in sync with outside camera events.
12:58 Female arrives from off camera, flying in from behind the box. Male attempts to mate, unsuccessfully, I think. Both fly away. I reload the page at this point, which syncs inside/outside cameras.
13:04 Male enters box, settles on eggs, f10. No chirps.
13:09 Female enters box, calling. After what seem to be “encouraging” chirps from female, male moves off eggs, exits.
13:10 Female settles on eggs, f5. No chirps at this point.
13:12 Black-billed magpie heard, seen in conifer behind box, verifying my ID of call at 12:51.
13:14 Female breathing noticeable, tail moving in sync. I have not noticed this with the male.
14:13 Female arranging bedding, turning eggs. Chirps twice. Returns to incubation, f10. Breathing not noticeable. Wind seems to be picking up.
14:42 Male outside doorway, calling insistently. I think he had an insect in his beak. Female does not react, male flies away.
From 17:40 - 17:45 the female
From 17:40 - 17:45 the female spent most of the time working on the nest; very energetically rotating, using her feet and beak to rearrange the bedding or possibly to turn the eggs (sure wish I could get a side view), rocking from side to side as she transferred her weight from one foot to the other, all accompanied by knocking/rapping/scratching sounds. Now, at 17:59, she's at it again, with an occasional chirp.
20:49 Male kestrel on top of
20:49 Male kestrel on top of the box, female on the eggs. One or both of them give a few short chirps as night approaches.
20:52 The male has silently departed the top of the box. Prior to leaving he sat moving his tail up and down for at least one minute; each up/down cycle took just under a second, and he did it like clockwork. Simultaneously, he also periodically bobbed his head, but this was more intermittent.
As I sit here watching my
As I sit here watching my parakeets, I look forward to seeing more of the kestrels later today. I found a marvellous resource here on the AKP site that explains how to identify male and female nestlings even earlier than when it looks obvious to me at least.
My parakeets' blood feathers bleed when they break before having grown all the way in. The little kestrels' primaries look a little bit like blood feathers.
dang windy at the box!
dang windy at the box!
Hello folks!
Hello folks!
I'd like to remind everyone to respect your fellow contributors in this discussion forum. If you have any questions or troubles, feel free to come to me at any time!
Thanks,
Delora
It has been approximately 14
It has been approximately 14-16 days of full incubation so far, as of April 27th. We are still predicting an approximate hatch date of May 10th-May 15th or so!
The female American Kestrels typically do the majority of the incubation - however, the male most definitely makes a large contribution as well, as all of you have been seeing!
An interesting note - while this nest box's nest initiation was only a little bit earlier than last year's, there are many across the Western United States reporting kestrel nesting a full month earlier than usual! Some kestrels in Idaho, for instance, already are brooding hatched nestlings! An unusually warm spring is likely the reason. It is interesting to see what weather patterns affect kestrel nesting behavior.
Interesting that you point
Interesting that you point out the unusually warm spring - I immediately thought of the declining kestrel count in the Yukon in Canada. Has anyone reported in from up there about their birds so far this season?
4/27 21:25 Off topic but on
4/27 21:25 Off topic but on camera:
I'm sure it's a function of the camera and not what it looked like, but it sure did look like a flying saucer crossing the sky from left to right just now; went off camera at upper edge, a little ways from the right edge.
Hah, now that's a report you
Hah, now that's a report you don't get every day!
My guess is a plane - we are fairly close to the Boise airport.