Stephen Barnard continues to document the lives of the two American kestrels (Falco sparverius), named Boris and Natasha, who are nesting in a raptor cottage Stephen affixed to his garage. His descriptions are indented.
Here’s the male (the female is Natasha):
Boris taking off.
Also, here’s the video from which I took and cropped the frame—50% slow motion.
Also from a video; look at the beautiful tail pattern!
Natasha. I’m pretty sure they’re still incubating eggs. I’ve been observing them coming and going (with the remote camera) for hours, and I never see them bringing prey into the nest box.
WoW! Beautiful shots! These falcons, well adapted to urban environment are so interesting. I once was trying to photograph a couple nesting in the cornice of a 5 story building. On the sidewalk across the street, while I was looking down and setting the camera, I heard a screech, looked up and the male was charging me, wings and tail expanded, stopping 2 feet from my face. Very impressive territorial display! The bird looked way bigger that it actually is!
Such beautiful animals! I very much appreciate the documentation of their lives.
I would think it is swallowed & regurgitated..
Could be. I never thought of that.
WoW. The colors of the first picture are astounding.
Thank you for keeping us in the loop on this.
It’s really exciting to witness.
Thanks Stephen, lovely stuff. Your videos are fun! So lucky to have those birds nesting in your box!
I enjoyed hearing all the birds calls in the background. Our back yard is very noisy now too.
The bird calls are in slow “motion” too. 🙂
Your photos are an absolute delight, Stephen! Thank you.
Lovely kestrels!