INTERNATIONAL KESTRELS ~ 2014

Catbird · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2014 6:23 am

loza - Thanks for keeping up with all the kestrels. I really enjoy seeing your pictures and videos and reading your comments!

As for the Belarus nest where you questioned whether there were 4 chicks now, it does appear that 1 chick is gone and there are only 4 chicks. I checked the posts on the Web site and used Google translate (not ideal, but better than nothing) to try to find out what had happened. I found a video from 6/19 that showed an intruder female kestrel attacking the resident female, and it wasn't a pretty sight as one of the chicks appeared to be caught in the middle of the fight. It looked as if that poor little chick was injured during the fight and most likely didn't survive.

In other news . . .

England - Simon King: There had been 3 eggs and now there are only 2. I hope this won't be a failed nest.

Italy - Sardegna: As of yesterday, it appeared that 2 of the chicks had fledged. I checked the nest a short while ago, and no chicks were visible. I don't know if they fledged too or if they are just out of sight in the nest box.

Italy - Rebecca & Cirro: The 4 chicks hatched on 5/22 and 5/23, and they were ringed on 6/14 and returned to the nest. Since then, they haven't been visible in the nest box so I've been assuming that they've been enjoying the ledge outside the box. Now is the time they should be fledging, but I don't know if they have or not.

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

Matera Lesser Kestrels:

First sign was that female ate a small prey on the nest (not sure whether she took it to the nest upon return or received it from the male, who had just left the nest before):

9:53 AM

And indeed first hatch! - while male on the nest:

1:06 PM

Edit:
Male leaves nest for 11 min., returns with prey, but it turns out to be too large and he eats it himself instead ...

1:47 PM

Reminder - Egg dates - May 22-24-27-29
Hatch - June 23 ....

Catbird · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2014 8:08 am

Great news about the first hatch for the Matera Lesser Kestrels! I'm so glad you were there to catch it this morning, Bosuil.

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

Matera Lesser Kestrels:

Alas there is some not so good news as well. First the good news: after an hour, the female finally arrived - with a prey (did she know?) - and fed the chick with it.

The not so good news: those that watched have seen that the parents behave rather jittery - quickly jumping up and leaving the nest - and also the male left the nest alone for longer periods of time. There is no outside cam and the audio has disappeared (it was there at the start of the broadcasting) - so it's harder to judge what is happening. On Sunday morning, I caught a glimpse of another female who tried to enter the nestbox. The male chased her away, and afterwards I noticed "shadows" covering the holes in the back of the nestbox - something was moving past. Soon after, the male left for a longer time (15-40 min.)

Today, just after the chick had hatched, the male left the nest 5 or 6 times - in a big hurry and sort of running over the chick. Then, just as "our" female was feeding the chick,

a first calenderyear male (recognisable by the partially moulted plumage) entered the nest.
She didnot even notice it was not her partner. He retreated.
Then 15 min. later,

a female entered the nest.

Again, "our" female didn't notice at first, then jumped up and chased her away, thereby almost trampling the chick. The chick has just been fed again, but isn't very agile at the moment ...

Edit: June 24 - 2 snapshots added.

loza · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2014 4:02 pm

Bosuil ,

Worcester UK 16.42 :egg8:

Wloclawek Poland
Morning was empty
Now returned three young. :girlluv:

There were four, one is not returned or it is not . :egg15:

Webcam of the platform does not work

Brest Bialorus

Young practice wings.

They stay in the far corner and it is difficult to count them.
I see that there are four, one no

Catbird · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2014 8:42 pm

What distressing news about the Matera Lesser Kestrels having to deal with intruder kestrels just as the first chick hatched. I sure hope the parents can make the intruders stay away and that the little chick is all right after all the commotion inside the nest.

loza · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:51 am

Kwidzyn Poland

24/6 night :flirty:

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

Beautiful sight, Ioza, all those growing tails ;-) !

Italian Lesser Kestrels - no new hatch at Matera (so maybe the lost egg was the 2nd egg), chick was just fed, female still cumsy, almost squeezed the chickie between the 2 eggs.
Alta Murgia eggs alone, then cam off line.
Bari (nearby both nest locations) temp. now is already 31 C already, expecting to go up to 34 C (34/5 ~ 7 * 9 = 63 + 32 = 95 F)

Edit 10:40 - 2nd hatch in progress:

Edit 11:19 - 2nd chick visible, waiting for good snapshot

Edit 11:28 - Correction: no hatch, still 2 eggs - big turmoil - the first year male is after the nest again

Catbird · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 7:23 am

Thanks for the update on Matera, Bosuil. Things seem pretty calm right now. Mom just finished feeding the chick . . . it looked like a mouse and an insect were on the menu. After the feeding, it took mom a while to figure out how to cover the chick, but she finally managed to get settled on top of it in the nest.

I've got my fingers crossed that the intruder kestrels have been driven away.

loza · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:28 am

Worcester UK

24/6 6.50 Mom ? :flirty:

Wloclawek Poland

Morning. Three young are 1 slot, two on the landing. :egg19:

Fight for breakfast

Kwidzyn Poland

14.30 Time lunch in nest. Very disciplined six :egg17:

Brest Bialorus

Lunch for 4 chicks serves Mom . :egg8:

Dad brings food to the pantry Mom takes

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

Catbird wrote:

What distressing news about the Matera Lesser Kestrels having to deal with intruder kestrels just as the first chick hatched. I sure hope the parents can make the intruders stay away and that the little chick is all right after all the commotion inside the nest.

Not sure what has happened to Dad while he was away and hunting those past hours - he just took over from Mom and in that half hour, he's been totally jittery: constantly on guard, stepping right on top of the chick, throwing it upside down, tossing it about while hopping around the eggs - all in a sort of nervosity stemming from ... ?
This is one strange pair ...
The good news is that the one chick is very well-fed and its belly can hardly hold all the stuff it ate ... just let's hope it doesn't get really hurt.

loza · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:00 pm

Wloclawek Poland

12.20 Three young. Departures and Returns :egg19:

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

loza wrote:

Wloclawek Poland

12.20 Three young. Departures and Returns :egg19:

Thanks for the clip, loza, great to see the anticipation and then even the ease with which the fledglings take off!

Catbird · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 7:37 pm

Quote:

Thanks for the clip, loza, great to see the anticipation and then even the ease with which the fledglings take off!

Thanks from me too, loza. And thanks for continuing to check up on the kestrel nests: It's been fascinating to see how often the Wloclawek and Worcester fledglings return to their nests for feedings or to just hang out.

Bosuil · **Joined:** Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:27 am **Posts:** 235

News from the nest of Rebecca & Cirro:

Quote:

Reactivated the kestrels webcam! Giacomo Dell'Omo yesterday has changed the frame, put back in the nest a chick recovered on the ground and added an orphan chick from another nest! Kestrels are all there, along with the new small, are well and mostly stationed on the ledge

loza · **Posted:** Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:19 am

Wloclawek Poland

25/6
7.14 One Young kestrels in nest

7.54 Two

Kwidzyn Poland

7.22 All six young kestrels in nest :loveshow:

Getting closer to the exit

Worcester UK - empty

Brest Bialorus

message does not work

Catbird · **Posted:** Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:11 am

Thanks, Bosuil, for relaying the good news about cam at Rebecca & Cirro's nest. I did check the cam this morning, but none of the kids were in sight.

At the Matera nest, mom and dad were taking good care of baby. I saw the male bring food twice, and the female carefully feed the baby. It seemed quite peaceful there at the nest today.

loza · **Posted:** Wed Jun 25, 2014 3:44 pm

Wloclawek Poland

12.47 Two young kestrels on the landing. departures

The joy of flying

Kwidzyn Poland

12 .52 Queen with lunch for six young kestrels

loza · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2014 3:57 am

Kwidzyn Poland

6.27 The movement in the morning, cramped and practice all

Look how fly out

Catbird · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2014 6:04 am

Thanks for the video, loza. Those chicks at Kwidzyn sure look ready to fledge now!

Germany - Berlin

It's a full house here, and it looks like the chicks will start fledging within the next couple of days.

Italy - Alta Murgia (Ginger & Fred)

:hatchegg:

First hatch today for the Lesser Kestrels!

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INTERNATIONAL KESTRELS ~ 2014

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