At 07:24 AM 5/13/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I was out walking the other day and came across some "unseen by me before"
>behavior. There was a pair of Kestral flying about making all kinds of
>noise. One landed on the top of the phone pole and sat, fluffed up (like a
>fledgling) calling constantly.
>
>The second bird, carrying a small mammal in its talons, landed nearby and
>simply sat there. There was no feeding behavior, and the second bird didn't
>return the first's calls. Eventually, the first bird flew off and I walked
>away.
>
>Anybody know what they were doing? Any guesses?

Peggy,

Our male has been bringing in most of the feed. He usually calls for her to
come and get it. If she's just eaten or fed the young, then she might not be
interested in his catch. Just an amateur guess. We have observed the male
stashing his catch for future use. That was a surprise.

The first year we had kestrels the male also assited in feeding the young by
going in the nest box with his catch. None of the others have.

Our birds are very vocal right now with the feeding frenzy as the young get
bigger and eat more. We can see two young for sure as the peep out the door.


Sue Ericksen
Zillah, WA