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Friday, April 30, 2010
The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America. As a cavity nester they will use holes in trees, crevices in cliffs or buildings, or artificial nest boxes. The habitat for the kestrel and screech owl are similar and the nest boxes made for them are identical. Wild Birds Unlimited has the nest boxes available or you can build your own. Plans can be found on the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) Website.The box should be 10 to 30 feet above ground in trees along the edge of a woodlot, on a lone tree in a field, on a barn, or mounted on a pole. Space the boxes one mile apart.
Kestrels hunt by perching, watching, and then flying down. Their habitats are open country, farmlands, and even urban environments.
Kestrels in Mid-Michigan usually go south for the winter. Females migrate before males and pick out the best wintering territories, but they both return to the same breeding territory in the spring. Males may perform a "dive display", in order to court a female and he may give her tasty morsels of food during courtship feeding. The photo shows the male kestrel presenting a grasshopper to his female.The average kestrel is 9" nose to tail, has a 22" wingspan, and only weighs 4.1 oz. Their diet consists mainly of rodents, insects, and small reptiles. But, when one gets really hungry, or the opportunity presents they will occasionally eat a bird. They are not a serious threat to any of the larger bird species. But American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is commonly known in as the "Sparrow Hawk" because it will hunt smaller birds like sparrows.
So the answer to "will the kestrels feed on my finches and swallows" is maybe, but they won’t decimate the bird populations in your area. There is a natural balance.
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