Hi All,
Since Mid May, I've been on a roller coaster of highs and lows with our DC Kestrels.� First, in Mid May,� I noticed a lone bird visiting a cavity under the eaves of a tall, old Apartment building at the corner of T St. & 17th St. N.W..� But it took over a week to relocate any Kestrels, much less a nest.� But 10 days later I did find Kestrels, first one and then two, but no nest. They seemed to like to perch up on the antennas on top of the building and nearly impossible to see from street level. Then in early June, I found the nest and a kestrel peering out!�
Then tragedy hit.� The next day(6-8-12) I was joined by Dan Rauch of DC's Dept. of Environment, and we found 2 dead chicks that apparently fell out of the nest (8 stories up).� The Kestrel pair hung around for a while, but no longer seemed to be visiting the nest.� I hoped the Kestrels might re-nest, but this didn't seem likely.� Then, late last week, I heard what sounded like a young bird calling for food up in a nearby tree.� Without binoculars, I could only make out a small falcon.� The next day, binoculars in had I was able to find 3 Kestrels and at one point have all three insight at the same time.� The young bird seemed to be hanging with the large brown female that we tearing something apart in the crown of a huge oak in the little Park.��
Ten years ago a Kestrel nest would not be that big of a deal, but as their numbers plummet - especially in the mid Atlantic (http://kestrel.peregrinefund.org/kestrel-decline), it's amazing to see them still hang on in the heart of Washington, DC.� A friend even told me a little story about how participants at the World Series of Birding were asked how many groups had seen a Bald Eagle this year, and how many had seen a Kestrel.� Every group had seen Blad Eagles, while only one group has seen Kestrel.� There also seems to be only one site east of I-95 in New Jersey where Kestrels have been seen in June 2012.
So, keep an eye on any nesting Kestrels this year and report them to eBird!
Jason Berry
Washington, DC
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