The Kestrels are out!

Kestrels abound!!! "How many?" you ask? Thou shalt count to four, no more, no less. Four shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be four. Five shalt thou not count, nor either count thou three, excepting that thou then proceed to four. Five is right out.









































Again, I apologize for the shoddy photos, but they were taken from my from my bedroom, with a digital kodak peering through one side of a set of binoculars. It's the best I can do. It's a long way from our front bedroom to the roof of the Church across the street.

For more background, check out the prior post here: http://www.rehabordie.com/search/label/Falcon

BTW, we can add both house finches and gold finches to the list of birds seen in our NKy yard spotting zone. Tip: feed your birds lots of sunflower seeds and thistle seed. Brings the wild ones in. You'll bring in blue jays and cardinals with peanuts.

Addendum by DH on 6-23-09: The young kestrels (sparrow hawks) have moved around to the back of our house to, interestingly enough, watch the bird feeder. On Fathers Day, we got to watch one take a shot at a sparrow, only 20 feet from our revelers. Yesterday, one showed up on the branch outside my window with a bird that (s)he had caught.

This is too cool.

If you came here from Julia's Blog Party at Hooked On Houses, this is your link back.

The new neighbors across the street

Well, he's a bit gruff, gone a lot of the time.... apparently he likes to hunt quite a bit, but she's a lovely homemaker.

So far, they've just moved in a few things-- they pack light--but we think they're going to stay a while. Maybe raise some kids.

Mr. & Mrs. Sparrow next door must have moved out during the night, because they're no where to be found.

Oh well. Lose a neighbor, gain a neighbor.

















Mr. & Mrs. Kestrel's new home.
















Yes, I was actually able to take a picture with my little digital camera *Through* the bird watching binoculars. I didn't know I could do that.

Here's a clearer pic of the American Kestrel, our smallest falcon, found on the web.







Addendum by DH:

That's a very old church on what was the highest point in old Covington (prior to the annexation of the vineyards and farm land that became Devou Park and surrounds). Obviously, it needs some serious box gutter work. Fortunately, it's also perfect for our smallest falcon. I hope they stay and rear young. And eat sparrows and starlings.

I was struck yesterday by all the wild life we've observed on or over our little urban property so far. A quick inventory:

Canadian Geese
Mallard Ducks
Turkey Vultures
Red Tailed Hawk
Bats
Mice
Squirrels
Opossum
Raccoon
Chickadees
Mourning Dove
Rock Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Robins
Junko's
Grackles
European Starlings (invasive)
English Sparrows (invasive)
Chimney Swift
Blue Jay
Garter Snake
Crows
Carolina Wren
Cardinals
Brown Thrasher

That's not a bad amount of wild life for just a few months on or over a postage stamp lot in the city. It seems like more than I could have expected a decade or two ago. If I include the whole of Covington, the list is larger and more bizarre (beaver anyone?).

In any case, I expect to be able to add some swallows, finches, wrens, maybe owls, wood peckers, and a few more land dwellers by the end of this summer. All in all, I think it's pretty cool. We live in an interesting time for nature lovers.

UPDATE: I've seen or heard the Kestrels every day now, and I've also caught them mating more than once (not that I'm a bird-perv). That suggests that they may be here for the season. That has to be a good omen.