Little Players

My kestrel hasn't been around much this week. I was starting to get nervous because I didn't know if it had left me. I started thinking, "If my kestrel leaves, what will become of my blog and my grade?" My bird came back this week, but I thought it was strange of this bird to do that. It had done that in the past and I thought it was a bit strange. Then I started to research this about my kestrel. It turns out it's some sort of seasonal thing they do; they leave the nest once in awhile and come back later.

I can finally sleep well knowing my kestrel will be there. Anyway, while I was researching this, I came upon something quite interesting. Remember how on an earlier post I mentioned that kestrels have multiple partners? Well according to the University of Minnesota, kestrels don't mate for life. "However during the breeding season they are monogamous. If they are successful they may both return to the same site next year." (University of Minnesota).

I thought this was really interesting because the more I research these bird, the more I find that humans have a lot in common with these animals. They have one partner one mating season, but can have another one next season. I don't know about you, but this sounds a lot like a human to me. We can have multiple partners before we settle for just one. The only difference is that the kestrel has sex with its partner and then decides if it'll stay with it and humans date a person before deciding.

In the summer I always saw my kestrel with a mate, but later in fall or winter I would see her all by herself. Maybe she hasn't found that special someone yet. Or maybe they go their separate ways and meet up later for mating season. I don't know, but I hope her the best.

My next really intriguing question that I've had since forever was how do birds mate? I think most people have asked themselves that at some point in their lives. I Googled that question and found this picture of the kestrels.

anderslundberg.no/galleries/portugal-campo-branco

It looks a lot like two people having sex. I was totally shocked when I saw this; I have no idea how this can happen when I don't see a sexual organ on any bird.

Work Cited

University of Minnesota. "Kestrel Watch". University of Minnesota. N. p. n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.            "<http://kestrelwatch.ahc.umn.edu/kestrel_faq.cfm>."

fast lil guys

Ever since my last blog, I've been trying to get a video with a kestrel hunting. I've looked at a couple, but it doesn't really show a good image of the kestrel hunting. This following video show a good view of the kestrel hunting. It's really cool. Watch it! They are really fast hunters and...well, just watch it first and I'll keep writing when you finish the video.

http://youtu.be/2GFnInTVbq4

Did you see this little guy catch the katrina? I didn't even see what it was trying to catch the first time I watched this video. I had to watch it a couple times and then the slow-mo really helped me see the katrina.  

These are some fast flying birds. It reminds me of how short people tend to be really fast. This is mostly true because in most soccer teams I've been on, the shortest people are really fast. I should know, since I was really short and fast before I hit a growth spurt; I earned the nickname, "Speedy," from Speedy Gonzales. I thought this was only true for humans; I never would have guessed it also applied for the animal kingdom. 

Kestrels are relatively small; their wingspan is 23 inches and their length is 10 inches. By watching this video above, you may realize that it has a really fast acceleration; they also flap their wings at a fast pace when they hunt. 

Small, But Fierce

This kestrel is super amazing! The more I research it the more I find this bird to be more and more awesome! I was researching more on what they eat and its hunting techniques to see if they hunt specifically on a set time. I was surprised at what I found about these crazy birds.

When I think of a bird's prey, I usually think of worms, insects, and if they're more aggressive and vicious, rodents. That's what most people think right? Well in fact, these birds eat other types of small birds and some very dangerous insects.

Apparently kestrels prey upon small birds such as European starlings, house sparrows and songbirds. I was actually shocked when I found out about this because I had never heard of birds eating other birds, but apparently there is such a thing as that. At first I thought it was some sort of cannibalism or something like that...then I looked up the definition of "cannibalism." It turns out that it's only considered "cannibalism" if they eat their own species.

Anyway, my English teacher, Farias, recommended me to watch this following video of starlings. This is truly unbelievable! I can't imagine seeing this in person. Just all those birds flying all at once in perfect coordination so they don't crash amongst themselves, is just insane. You must check this out! I don't know if it's just me, but as I was watching this video, I noticed that at times the little starlings were making figures as they all flew in perfect harmony. Watch it.

Just imagine a few kestrels in there; I think that would make them really happy. So changing topics here a bit, kestrels may be small, but they are fierce little guys. I had no idea they preyed on scorpions! What the heck!? Considering their size, I didn't know they could take on scorpions. The scorpion can just strike with its poisonous tail and kill the bird, but instead it's the bird that prevails and kills the scorpion. After reading kestrels did that, I thought they were way cool. Then, I read they also had snakes on their diet. This was it, this bird is just unbelievably awesome! When I read this, it reminded me of the bird on the Mexican flag eating the snake on a cactus. I still can't believe little birds can do that to snakes. They are some fierce little guys.

Realization

Ever since my last entry, I've noticed so many amazing things about this cool American kestrel. To start off I figured out the sex of this bird! It turns out it’s a female. Female kestrels have more of a falcon look (left) and male kestrels have some blue feathers on its wings (right).

American Kestrel

According to identifywhatbird.com the females arrive first on their winter range and establish their territories in the preferred open areas. The males, arriving later are forced to use areas with more trees." "Maybe this explains why girls are always saying they're smarter than guys.

The American kestrel is considered a falcon even though it acts like a hawk, falcon and an accipiter at times. It's an exceptional hunter. I remember last summer, I would always find pieces of what seemed to be some sort of creature. I could never make out make creature it was but it seemed to be different every time.I figured they ate insects, maybe rodents, but never in a million years would I've know they ate other birds! They hunt House Sparrows and European Starlings. I don't know about you, but that's really unusual for me. I never knew birds could eat other birds.

I also found another weird but yet interesting fact about these amazing birds. "American Kestrel: Female is promiscuous, mating with two or three males prior to settling with a single mate." (Identifying What Bird) When I first found out about this my first impression was, "What's the point of doing this? Is she trying to figure out who does it better?" (I'll have to keep researching this and I'll let you know on a future blog).