American Kestrels
8/6/17
By David Brown
Falcons are incredible birds known for their speed. Pennsylvania has three species of falcons and they all successfully nested in Lycoming County this summer. The peregrine falcon is the largest of the three and is the fastest animal on the planet. The merlin is a small dark falcon with an aggressive attitude. The third is a colorful little farmland falcon.
The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America. Kestrels have a 22-inch wingspan and weigh about 4 ounces. The title of a book about kestrels calls them “pint-sized predators.”
They can be seen locally year-round. They are often found in farmland where they like to perch on electrical wires and other high vantage points. It is also a common species to see while hawk watching during spring and fall migration.
The main diet of kestrels is insects, rodents, and birds. They are able to hover in midair by frantically flapping while keeping the head stationary to spot prey below. They also hunt by waiting on high perches then dropping down to the ground to grab a meal.
Kestrels nest in cavities. They do not create their own cavities but instead will use old woodpecker holes. They will also use large wooden nest boxes that are designed specifically for them.
American Kestrel
Kestrels can be identified from a distance by their pointed wings, small size, and buoyant flight style. They flap with swept back, flickering wing beats. Sharp-shinned hawks are also small and buoyant but have rounded wingtips. Merlins have pointed wings but have a more stable and direct flight style.
American kestrels are sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females have different plumages. They are mostly orange and brown but the wings of males are blue and black. Males have bright orange tails with a black tip except for the outer tail feathers which are striped. Females have tails that are completely banded. Juvenile males are white underneath until their first fall when the breast turns orange to look like that of an adult male. Juvenile females have the same plumage as adult females. Kestrels have spots and stripes on the head that help conceal which way the bird is looking.
The next time you are driving through an area with farm fields, watch the telephone poles and wires and see if you can spot one of these tiny falcons.
I also have an exciting announcement about a popular local bird that visited a few years ago. The trumpeter swan that was near the Williamsport dam for two months in the fall of 2015 is a father. He and his mate successfully nested in Ontario, Canada and were spotted with two small cygnets on July 25th. Individual trumpeter swans can be identified by the unique code on the yellow wing tags that they are given when captured and banded.
