Papa Kestrel

The male of the local nest was hanging out atop the Old Chapel when

This Red-tailed Hawk entered the space.

Giving a shout or two, the little falcon went after the big Buteo.

I’ve been seeing this a fair amount lately. It’s nesting season, and small birds will go to great lengths to protect their own. Blue Jays, Grackles, Red-wing Blackbirds, and plenty of smaller species, sometimes in mixed groups, will go after crows and hawks in their nesting territory. The Kestrels, who are in turn mobbed by Blue Jays, really have a thing for Red-tails. Blue Jays themselves, not above nest-raiding, also get the treatment from smaller song birds.