Kestrels in the Quarry 2013...

Unknown said:

Love these updates and photos Wendy;    it's been awful weather here and now blowing an absolute gale with rain and more to come :(

not a good forecast for me here tomorrow H - just hope & pray they are exaggerating!,

Thanks for the encouragement D, SG, G & EB - I spend most of my waking hours constantly checking this nest (severe pain in the neck physically)  & listening for their calls but I do have to go out occasionally lol!  I still am not sure if there are eggs - so much coming & going, it seems that no dedicated brooding yet & I have yet to see Mr K bring any food!

gaynorsl said:

Nice to see them again Wendy, your video was good stuff by the way.   Do you think there are any eggs yet?as they appear to be taking it in turn.   Did I read that you have done all this before other years? so you should be quite the expert now!  Not to put you under pressure of course!

would not profess to be an expert G but this is my seventh year with this nest so hopefully gaining more insight!  Certainly much easier since I got decent cam for my birthday last year!  It arrived the day before three of the four fledged - the first one had already left & there was a bit of a gap during which I assumed only one had survived - think that the male parent had died & female was sole provider - then just as I was puzzling over it three bodies came forward to look out at the world & because of the cam I was able to snap them!  I do have many pics & vids of last year's activity & am in the process of sorting them to upload to Flickr - but it will take a while yet as I'm trying to keep this year's in order as I go along - not enough hours & all that jazz!!  But I know how lucky I am to have all this & am pleased to be able to share it with like-minded peoples on here!

Hi Wendy enjoy reading your updates,and looking at your pics,keep them coming.

thanks Des

Seven years, that takes some beating.   You must be dedicated Wendy.

I look forward to seeing the fledgling, should be an exciting time, bet you miss them when they leave the nest.

I've got visitors this weekend, catch up again on Monday.   Hopefully we have a little summer by then.

I agree gaynorsl that is some serious dedication and Im glad that your birthday present of a camera is helping you and ourselves enjoy the kestrels even more. thank you for keeping us updated. :)

Very much pre-occupied yesterday but did manage to snatch vid of Mrs K eating her lunch on top of telegraph pole.......

This is the 'not so gory' section - more to follow!!!

Part 2 of Mrs K eating lunch - more gory!!....

I find it quite fascinating to watch her actions (C de Ville lol!)

Scant sightings for last couple of days - just this one pic of Mrs K yesterday...

and she didn't hang around!!

Later I heard the familiar call & saw Mr K in nest....

Wasn't there long then flew to nearby tree...

At various times during the afternoon I heard many calls but could see nothing........and then......they both came in together but were very unsettled.  Finally Mrs K chose a spot on the cliff face & proceeded to eat --- just what she was eating will be revealed later when vid has uploaded!!!!!!!!

 

Lovely videos Wendy, I debated whether to put the "more gory" one on fullscreen, but chickened out!   They do have to work so hard for their morsels of food tho'. and are vigilant at all times it seems.