My wife and I have been observing American Kestrels outside
our Brooklyn apartment since January. The male showed up first, the female soon
afterwards. They seemed paired up by late February, when I happened to see one
shoot into a cornice down the block (not, unfortunately, visible from our
apartment). I understand that a part of their pair-bonding is scouting nest sites.
Well, that's the one they chose, above a bodega.
Today, apropos for Father's Day, I glimpsed the first evidence of the payoff for all their hard work: a young male, still inside the cornice. We certainly hope there's more, and that the (nerve-wracking for us) fledgling proceeds apace.
This has been the most sustained nature observation I've
ever experienced and it has been amazing, and gory: have watched more than a
few songbird feet being gulped down kestrel throats.
There are pictures galore on my blog Backyard and Beyond, https://matthewwills.com. If you want to skip straight to all the #BrooklynKestrels it's https://matthewwills.com/tag/kestrels/
Keep your eyes on those old TV antennas,
Matthew
