American Kestrels?

21 years ago

Caught these pics at work today looking through a window on the 12th floor (where there is a partial roof). This is in the city of Philadelphia near the Delaware River. I'm guessing they were about 50ft away and were perched on a building ornament.

Camera is a Kodak Z740 which has a 10x zoom.

One of my coworkers ID'd them and suggested they were juveniles. Wanted to get a confirm on that. I know there are peregrines downtown but the variety of birds seems to be growing and growing and growing!

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Comments (7)

Gaviota
21 years ago
That is indeed a pair of juvenile male Kestrel siblings. Cute as they can be. It's good that the variety is growing in your area, in many places it's the opposite. Great pic, thanks !
Jeff
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
21 years ago
Cool! Thanks for the confirmation. I'm thinking that part of the increase is thanks to the Tinicum Wildlife Refuge here, which I understand is a major migration stopover for a number of species. Good to see all the preservation efforts having a positive effect.
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Yeah, the body parts can get to most people : ( Most raptors return to the same area, and many to the same nest site. But: I don't know about kestrels! Here's the thing: Someone will use that cavity, so it's a good idea to close it off after the bebes fledge. I am a bit confused by your last observation. American kestrels that are "immature" look pretty much like mature birds. You'd have to get a close look to see if they are really immature. You know, American kestrel populations have taken a hit recently, and I think it's because of poison (they are big insect eaters, and so suffer from secondary poisoning) and decline of suitable habitat and nest sites. I worked at a wild bird rehab center for over 10 years, and we noticed that many of the kestrel chicks we got were from cities, which was encouraging and rather startling, as these are birds that depend on grasslands for hunting. Here is a link that might be useful: AK info
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jphillipobrien
21 years ago
nice shot...definitely fledglings, both male. any idea where the nest was?
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
21 years ago
I'm not sure where the nest is but according to my coworkers up on that floor, they have been watching those 2 on that roof for the past couple weeks so it wouldn't surprise me that it is somewhere up high on our building. The building is one of those historic WPA buildings built in art deco style from the '30s with a tower portion that takes the building up to a technical floor height of 16 stories. So there could be all kinds of protective overhangs available for nesting thanks to the decorative windows and vents, carved artwork, and ledges up there on the tower.
richardzone7maryland
21 years ago
The kestrels sure are disappearing from my area in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. All the new housing is driving the kestrels away.

Richard
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
21 years ago
Well... These 2 are in the Olde City section of Philly which is obviously very densely built on - essentially since the time of William Penn, et al, from the 1600s on, and the building where the pic was taken is 3 blocks from Independence Hall. This is also a block from I-95 and the Ben Franklin Bridge and all the noise and traffic associated with that, both on the interstate highway and the Delaware river with all the cargo ships and barges, etc.

These little ones are adapting for sure and I guess for others worried that they would be deterred by building density and construction, it's apparent that they aren't! There's a 10 story condo under construction across the street and these little ones are paying all that racket no mind. I think as long as there is a place for them to nest and food to hunt, they will be fine. What probably helps is that Philly has one of the largest municipal parks in the country (Fairmount Park with > 4500 acres, sections of which are located throughout the city), so that serves as havens for alot of wildlife - particularly birds and small animals.
Elly_NJ
21 years ago
Outside of the fact that 2 males do not sit side by side, how do you physically determine that they are juveniles? It is my understanding that outside of looking at the molt (the feather development that shows all feathers grew at once on a juvenile, while adults have various feather lengths), there is no color difference between juveniles and adults.

American Kestrels?

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Gaviota

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American Kestrels?

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Gaviota

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