This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Bird Houses, Bird Information, Bird Watching, Types of Birds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 21, 2008
The American kestrel is the best-known and smallest bird of prey in North America, measuring just 9 inches long with a wingspan of 22 inches. Both sexes have a russet back and tail, and double black stripes on a white face. The males have blue-gray wing covers and cap. Their call is “killy, killy, killy.”
Roadside fields and grassy areas are perfect hunting grounds for this insect-eating hawk. It is not uncommon for American kestrels to live near humans. In fact, they’re so friendly they will sometimes go to bird feeders for food. They will readily move into a large birdhouse on a pole or in a tree, 10 to 30 feet above the ground.
American kestrels are faced with a lack of suitable nesting cavities. You can help them out by building bird houses and ideally install them on free-standing, 10 to 12 foot high posts by February 1. Kestrels are most likely to start nesting in May, but they are early migrants, so it’s better to have them up and ready early. You may need to check your kestrel bird houses every week for starlings that have nested and laid eggs. Kestrel eggs are a pink-ish, cinnamon color with specks of brown. Occasional checking in on the nest box will not cause kestrels to abandon the nest.
This colorful falcon has charmed its way into backyards across the country and is giving us the chance to enjoy their antics in our backyard birding.
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