What a treat it has been to watch the activity in the kestrel nest this summer. For a long time we did not know if the pair had been successful; then, all of a sudden, it seemed that mama and papa had all they could do to supply food to the vocal youngsters. All along I thought there were twins in the box until last Thursday when the first chick braved the world outside and we realized there were still two heads peeking out the hole!
The problem with being first out of the nest is that mama still has two hungry mouths to feed, as the adventurer quickly realized.
In the shots above he is doing his best to remind mama that he is hungry too. In the image below, she seems to acknowledge his presence.Eventually he found his way back into the nest where he spent the night with his less daring siblings.
By the next morning however, all three chicks were testing their wings. In this shot below you can see them spread out diagonally across the tree.
When mama arrives with food (lower right corner) the chicks get so excited that the one in the middle falls off the branch and just catches himself with his chin!
In the next shot you see the youngster trying out his various balance moves. He quickly got the hang of it.
Papa showed up a few times with grasshoppers and seemed to be comfortable feeding the babies outside the nest. The middle chick does not want to share with his screeching siblings.
All three youngsters seemed to be doing well by the end of the day. They spent that night in the box and then moved out to more expansive digs the next day.
I hope the fact that three of them successfully fledged this year means that we will have more entertainment in the box next year!
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