Tag Archives: American Kestrel

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Jennifer Massey saw this beautiful, male American Kestrel perched near her Sea Ranch home.

Another day she found him hovering as he searched for a meal.

American Kestrels are North America's smallest falcons but they are fierce hunters of insects and other small animals. They use their long tail feathers to help them hover in the air, as Jennifer's second photo shows. Their call isn't very musical, in fact it sounds like someone laughing to me. See what you think, as you can listen at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds

Thanks to Jennifer for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We had a couple of storms move through today and our rain gauge shows .96 inches. Mushrooms are popping!

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Sara Bogard was at the bluffs of the Point Arena Lighthouse and the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands counting Harbor Seals, as she usually does once a week. Citizen science at it's best! She saw this American Kestrel.

These Kestrels are the smallest falcons in North America. They are fierce hunters, though, of insects and small prey. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says their numbers are declining and you can help them by putting up a nesting box. You can learn about how to do so at this link: https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/?__hstc=75100365.3ba4c962035e2b46bef5a13526048f2b.1532470093277.1578698034623.1579993283940.72&__hssc=75100365.2.1579993283940&__hsfp=942012614#_ga=2.46727719.1805588219.1579993283-500012005.1532470093

American Kestrels have a distinctive call that can help you identify them. You can listen at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds

Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Bonus sighting - a pod of Orcas, Killer Whales, was seen off our coast yesterday!

As I type this at 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, it has begun to pour!

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Ron LeValley had this male American Kestrel pose for him.

Male American Kestrel by Ron LeValleyHere's what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about these small falcons:

"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; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes."

To hear the call of a Kestrel, here's the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds

Thanks to Ron LeValley for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/

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That's what Craig Tooley theorizes! Craig photographed this American Kestrel in a unique pose.

This small falcon eats insects, snatching them out of the air. Am. Kestrels are year round residents on the Mendonoma Coast.

To hear the call of this bird, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_kestrel/sounds

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: ruffimage.com