Kestrel Cam

July 7, 2021 12:59 AM

Four kestrels were born on an upper level of the Jornal de Notícias [article in Portuguese] building in Porto last week. They were born on a bed of shattered safety glass, but appear comfortable. You can watch them here. [Time is US west coast +8 hours, or GMT +1]

Previously

posted by chavenet (13 comments total)

Aw, I am bummed to learn European kestrels look different to American ones, because American ones look like God is punking you with hawks that think they're Bears fans.

However: TEENY BIRDIES!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:19 AM on July 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

Thanks! Turns out that watching a kestrel feed a rat to its young was exactly what my soul needed this afternoon.

And now they're snuggling awwwww
posted by Kattullus at 4:05 AM on July 7, 2021 [4 favorites]

Muito fofo. Sorry I missed lunch.
posted by BobTheScientist at 5:05 AM on July 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

MetaFilter: Turns out that watching a kestrel feed a rat to its young was exactly what my soul needed this afternoon.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:22 AM on July 7, 2021 [4 favorites]

I'm curious about the hat! Did someone drop it in surprise on seeing kestrels where they did not expect? Was it an attempt to give them something nicer than broken glass to sit on? Did it just blow in from somewhere?
posted by tavella at 8:13 AM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm curious about the hat!

It's all that's left from their first meal.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:41 AM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

The mystery deepens! A few days ago it was a hat on top of some sheets of office paper, which makes me that indeed someone was making an attempt to give them a safer substrate, but the papers were removed and not the hat? Maybe the flipping of the paper was distracting the kestrel?
posted by tavella at 9:04 AM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Also, you can see why the kestrel likes it so much, it's a double-layer window setup so the babies are tucked away out of sight.
posted by tavella at 9:06 AM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Other good news for birbs of prey: Harpers Ferry National Historic Park hosts its first peregrine falcon chick in seventy years since they were largely wiped out by DDT.
posted by peeedro at 10:00 AM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

They were born on a bed of shattered safety glass,

Relatable.
posted by srboisvert at 2:46 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

There is a nesting pair of peregrine falcons on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. (article from 2020.) Last year, they had two babies. This year, it's three. The nesting site is well hidden on the southwest end of the island, over the edge from any place where normal humans could see them. You can occasionally see them perched in various trees and pipes with a good view on the island.
posted by blob at 3:59 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

UC Berkeley peregrine falcons Annie and Grinnell hatched three healthy chicks back in April.

Annie and Grinnell are named in honour of the founder and first director of UC Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Annie Grinnell.

Based on the unavailability of the webcam, I'm guessing the babies have grown up enough to vacate the nest.
posted by Lexica at 4:29 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

I saw a bluejay drive away the Cardinals from our berry bush. Ironically I saw two A-10s slow throttle over Flint.

Audubon Society of Kalamazoo - Peregrine Falcon Cam. The Parapet cam is nice.
posted by clavdivs at 8:59 PM on July 7, 2021 [2 favorites]