Kestrel!

Dave spotted an American Kestrel on the neighbour's barn yesterday morning. It was being harassed by blue jays; it's the smallest N. Am hawk. The kestrel is about the same size as a jay and I don't think would pose a real threat, but they didn't let up. The kestrel was eventually chased away. We've seen the kesterl before, but this is the first time we've both seen one in so close to the house.



Interesting Kestrel facts from whatbird.com:

• Nestlings squirt their feces onto the walls of the nest cavity. The feces dry on the cavity walls and stay off the nestlings.
• A group of kestrels are collectively known as a " flight", " hover", and "soar" of kestrels.

Also, the number of hummingbirds has declined. They must be moving on. I was reading yesterday that it's important to keep hummingbird feeders out until November. Some people think that if they keep the feeders out that the birds won't migrate, but that's actually not the case. Keep the feeders out to help the younger and/or stragglers who will need the food to make the journey. A little bit of sugar water goes a long way to help out!!

Since the posting about the Baltimore Orioles, they have moved on. The oranges and jelly have been untouched in September. There was a flurry of activity for that final August weekend, where they must have been stocking up and now they've left us until the spring.

Fall migration is underway. We might get some new birds stopping in at feeders. There have been multiple reports of shorebirds in the Brittania Rd area, so we'll be looking for those as well.