Kestrel Fledglings stick Together

In this classic shot of four Kestrel together the one nearest to the camera is guarding prey that has just been handed over by its mother.

Kestrel fledglings are not aggressive to each other and will not attack their siblings to gain the prey and the one with it will now fly off to consume it alone.

The other three stay close together waiting for one of the parent birds to arrive with more prey and eventually they will all get a share,

Three becomes two and these seven week old fledglings are soon down to the last one waiting.

The female Kestrel flies off to hunt for its share of the prey hand-overs and a while later with their prey consumed the siblings have all got back together again waiting for the next round of supplies

Kestrel fledglings spread their Wings !

Four out of five of our North coast Kestrel fledglings have spread their wings over the last couple of
days.

They have moved a little further north along the coastline to Zawn a Bal and it is good to see them adapting to the natural coastal cliff environment.

These Fledglings are still reliant on the adult Kestrel for their prey supplies which is even more of a challenge than at the nest site as the fledglings are continuously on the move to more new perch points

In the final action shot above a competitive fledgling has followed the male Kestrel with prey in flight.

 The male at the back of the shot  has delivered the prey to another fledgling which sees the second fledgling coming and covers it with its wings to win the battle for possession.

For news about fledgling number five check out the following Blog

Little and Large

While working with our Kestrel fledglings on the North Cornish coast this morning we had a close sail-by from the huge Cunnard liner  Queen Mary 2.

Our colourful little inshore Cornish crab boat Pen Kernow PZ84 could not compete with the Queen Mary 2 for size but this is their patch and its lone crew member carried on with his fishing without even giving it a second glance.

With my attention drawn I captured a few more working images posted below as the Skipper hauled in his pots.

The unwanted Spider Crabs are returned to the sea but the lobster may well end up gracing the dinner tables of the Queen Mary 2 during her next exotic cruise !

Fledged Kestrel Portraits

It is a joy to watch these fine five week old Kestrel fledglings learning about their exciting new world

Kestrel Prey Hand-overs

Here are a selection of prey hand-over action shots taken over many hours during the last week.

Four chicks have now fledged and are doing well around the nest area leaving just one under developed chick within the nest which is still being provided with a good supply of prey.

This very capable pair of adult Kestrels have now raised twelve fledglings at this site in just three years.

Life around a Kestrel Nest

A hungry twenty four day old Kestrel chick waits impatiently at the entrance to its nest for the adult birds to return with prey.

It flaps its wings in frustration giving one of its four siblings a bit of a wing bashing

 Perhaps the second chick has got himself in the wrong location as the dirt and feathers fly

But as it happens it proves to be in the right place when the female Kestrel returns with prey.

As the dust settles the female Kestrel checks out her fine brood before her attention returns to the sky

She is off to hunt again and will repeat this exercise a dozen or more times throughout  the sunlight hours !

Waiting for Prey

A hungry Kestrel chick moves to the front of its dark nest hole looking out into the big wide world.

It is shortly joined by a second and a third hungry chick

A fourth chick arrives to join its siblings and there is just room for chick number five which is on its way.

And this is what they are all waiting and looking out for !!

The adult male Kestrel arrives back at the nest site with a young blackbird prey

And the female is right behind him with a freshly caught Vole so all the chicks will be fed again shortly

Things are looking well for these three week old Kestrel chicks,  Both of the adult birds were straight back out to hunt with fourteen items of prey that included Lizard and Slow Worm delivered between 8.30am to 4.30pm today !