Sunday, I saw my first kestrel—my first ever—and not just one, but two chicks and three adults. I owe it all to Derek Kite. I have never been able to find kestrels on my own, and certainly wouldn’t have found these ones. Yet, only a few hundred meters from a road, Derek had found a birch snag with kestrel chicks peering out. He took me there. We sat on the ground at a discrete distance and watched for a few hours. The nine pictures below offer a taste of the morning.
Sometimes one, sometimes two chicks peered out of an opening high on the birch snag.
If chicks are there, adults cannot be far away. On an adjacent snag sits a female who has captured a June beetle,
that she then delivers to the nest,
for a happy chick to eat.
An adult male captures a smaller bird, eats the tasty brains,
then delivers the rest of it to the nest. (My most satisfying image of the day).
For reasons that are unclear, another male (one with a ragged tail) also visits the nest. One of the males might be an elder sibling helping out. Who knows?
A final shot of an adult male at the nest hole.
All in all, a superb morning; thank you Derek.
Alistair, these pictures are awesome! you should really consider doing a coffee-table style picture book with all these wonderful pictures of the Kootenay (did I do that right?)!
PS. Did you ever come across a fellow meteorologist with the last name of Dressler? One of my wife’s best friend’s father was also a meteorologist – he lives in Victoria …
You recreated the awe and excitement of the morning. Thanks so much.
Gorgeous pictures, love the rich bronze colouring of the adults.
Kestrels are one of my favourites in the bird world! There were lots in Richmond back in my childhood days. Lovely shots of the male bringing home the “bacon”.
Absolutely fabulous pictures Alistair. I have watched this “live” in my yard but didn’t have the camera to capture it. Well done and I agree. Coffee table book in the making.