What’s All This, Then?

First I spot the male in his usual hunting grounds. It was kind of cool for lizards, but…

The female showed up calling for action.

Remarkably quickly, the male delivered her a lizard. I didn’t. couldn’t, see him catch it, and wonder, actually, if he had it cached somewhere.

I lost sight of both birds when they flew off to double-team a passing Red-tailed Hawk.

About 13 minutes later, the female reappeared.

The male flew in, assuming the position (just before this photo), but they do not copulate.

But wait a doggone minute. Do you see what I see?

This female is banded. The other was not. (Banded American Kestrel are rare around here; I’d love to know the story encoded on that ring.) The female copulating in my previous Kestrel update wasn’t banded, and other photos suggest she’s the one going into the nearby nest.

So who is this?

And is this other male, who is often seen some 8-10 blocks away in Green-Wood, as he was that day, available?