 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - adult male - Newburyport, MA |
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
A pair of kestrel managed to raise 4 young in the
Newburyport Industrial Park this summer,
a feat duplicated in very few locations around Essex County in recent years.
The following photos and brief videos were taken in mid
July 2010.
The young kestrels are successfully hunting on their own while
still following the adults begging loudly.
"Click" on any image for a larger photo...
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American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
American Kestrel - adult male - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
I've placed several Kestrel nest boxes around Essex County in
hopes of helping them successfully continue to raise their young
in the area. This is the 1st young Kestrel I've seen since
starting the program 3 years ago with the help of the Essex
County Ornithological Club. This young bird was raised somewhere near one of the boxes placed in the Industrial Park in Newburyport. A Northern Flicker inhabited that box this season. I'm very happy to see the Kestrels found a suitable location to raise their young. |
The young female kestrel in the images above on the left can be seen hunting from a guide wire in the video below.
 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
A stop in the industrial park on Sunday,
7/11/10,
found the family of American Kestrels hanging around a nest box
The young female kestrel watches as her male sibling comes in for a landing
on the right below.
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A brief video showing 3 young kestrel preening at a nest box in the Industrial Park.
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Margo Goetschkes took the image to the right on Sunday, 7/18/10. More of her photos can be seen at her |
 American Kestrel - juvenile male - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile male - Newburyport, MA |
The image to the left and the four below were taken on Sunday, July 18, 2010. The food items being consumed by the
kestrels |
 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile males - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile male - Newburyport, MA |
 American Kestrel - juvenile female - Newburyport, MA |
The video below has the young female kestrel hunting from
a light pole with a Common Yellowthroat "chipping" in the background
in protest, it most likely has a nest or young nearby. A second young male
kestrel flies in to join her on the pole.
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Steve Grinley & Margo Goetschkes gave me a big hand installing the box seen to the left in the Newburyport Industrial Park Sunday, 7/25/10. The young kestrel perched
near the box didn't seem |
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A visit with the young Kestrels on Monday 7/26 found them hunting over the field in the Industrial Park. |
Four of the Kestrels were attracted to the male with a
large prey item. The young female and male can be seen in the
brief clip below. The female managed to fly off with the prize.
All photos © Phil Brown 2010
