SEE HOW HE TURNS HIS HEAD SO FAR

 AROUND

  Kestrel hovering over by day

Long hours of watching really pay

For such the life is just that way

Worth is in the babe to thank and say

Mom and dad are just OK.

Kestrel

  Kestrel Falcon

The Kestrel is in the falcon family and mostly lives in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The male has an average weight of 5.5 oz. and the female is bigger than the male.  They are smaller than other birds of prey but bigger than the birds you see around your yard.

They are a light brown with dark spots and the young ones look more like the mother.  

The Kestrels in the North migrate south for the winter.  They can get used to living in various different situations.

The Kestrel hovers over the ground searching for his food when hunting.  He will fly high into the wind and soar, keeping watch with very keen eyes for any movements of small animals and his favorite is mice and other such small creatures.  Sometimes he will sit on a low branch close to the ground and when he sees his prey he will pounce on it.

There can be up to seven eggs in the nest or clutch, as they call it, then the mother is the one that sits on the eggs and the daddy feeds her during the incubation period   After the babies hatch the father will take turns with the mother to feed and warm them.  The next summer the babies will be big enough to have their own family.