Bird Watching: I’ll be as industrious as an ant this winter

On a recent bicycle outing through Greenway Park I spotted a kestrel atop a signpost.


["Atop a signpost, mere steps from the bike path"]

Fortunately I was carrying a pocket camera and snapped a photo before the bird flew across to sit upon a soccer goal post.

After I returned home I Googled ‘kestrel’ and read the following:

“North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail... Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles... Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.” [link to more kestrel information]


["American Kestrel atop Greenway goal post": photos by GH]

Once I gather information re kestrel nest boxes and check my lumber supply I may draw up another project. Not ‘my next project’ because I have a few on the go and more on the list.

However, if I keep my nose to the grindstone, stay as industrious as an ant, I may have a nest box or two ready for spring.

Have you made a nest box for a falcon? Any tips?

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Please click here for more about a recent birdhouse project.

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