Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Kestrels

This male is a hell of a provider. I’ve seen three feedings per day recently, in which the male will bring prey to a perch, pluck and eat some, and then noisily give to the female. Caught a glimpse of her. She’s coming out of the nest to take food. He has popped into the nest while she’s out.


This looks like it might not be a House Sparrow.

And this is the first mammal I’ve seen either of them eat this breeding season. A young rat? The day before, I saw what looked like a larger rodent scurry towards the curb in broad daylight right across the street from the kestrel nest site. This is a big danger because rat poisons travel up through the food-chain.


Listen for the maniacal sounds of Laughing Gulls passing overheard, and the falcon’s alertness to the sound.

On Thursday morning, there was a small fire on 5th Avenue. The smoke streamed by in the distance. Perched male on the right.

3 responses to “Kestrels”

  1. As far as rat poison ..I had heard with the way Faron the rodent would bleed out very quickly there fore not pose much danger to upper food chain …you don’t think this is true? Love your photos and and urban birds info

  2. Perfect little guys not giving up on our city.

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