I think of kestrels as rural birds because I often see them perched on wires above fields.  In fact, they’re cavity nesters so if they find a good hole to nest in and plenty of food they’ll set up shop anywhere that affords them a long sight line to the next meal.

American kestrels are our smallest falcon, only the size of robins, and they capture small prey: grasshoppers, mice and small birds.  This earned them the nickname Sparrow Hawk so I shouldn’t be surprised that they hang out in cities where there are plenty of house sparrows.  In our biggest city?  Yes, kestrels nest in New York.

For many years a small group of dedicated New Yorkers has been studying the city’s kestrels and keeping tabs on their nests.  Three years ago they realized the task was too big for them alone so they published a poster (Have You Seen This Bird? in 14 languages!) and “Birding Bob” DeCandido began emailing a Kestrel newsletter.  The group has grown as people discover kestrels, begin monitoring their nests, and rescue the fledglings who land in unsafe places. 

Monitoring kestrel nests can be fun.  The birds often choose nest sites in the damaged cornices of old buildings.  What a surprise when they poke their heads out of the holes!  The challenge comes when the young fledge and land on the street.  Fortunately people rescue the birds and they get excellent rehab care.  I was hooked when I read Jim O’Brien’s blog about the release of the rescued kestrels in Central Park last June.  Too bad I don’t live in New York.  I’d have been there!

Overall, American kestrels seem to be doing well but the count of kestrels at eastern hawk watches has declined for the past 20 years.  This is worrisome, so anything we can do to help kestrels is a plus.  Thanks to these folks — Robert DeCandido, Jim O’Brien, Deborah Allen, Bobby Horvath, Cathy St. Claire, Chad Seewagen and K.A. Peltomaa — and to those who’ve learned from them, New York City’s kestrels may be the most successful breeding population on the East Coast.

If you live in New York and want to help, click on the poster link above for more information or contact Robert DeCandido 718-828-8262 (rdcny<AT>earthlink.net), Jim O’Brien (YoJimBot<AT>gmail.com) or Deborah Allen (DAllenyc<AT>earthlink.net).   Just change the <AT> to an @ sign to send them email.

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p.s.  I love how this urban kestrel is perched on a wire… razor wire.

(photo by Robert DeCandido, PhD)

One of the highlights of my trip to Florida was a visit to Fort Matanzas National Monument to see the great horned owl‘s nest.

I say the great horned owl’s nest because it’s so easy to see that it’s become one of the Fort’s main attractions – at least to birders.

The nest is on the branch of a huge live oak about 20 feet above the sidewalk behind the Visitor’s Center.  It is so centrally located that everyone who takes the boat tour must walk beneath it.  The backyard slopes up from the live oak and on that rise the National Park Service has set up scopes with a view straight into the nest.  The father owl always perches nearby and there’s a scope on him too.  You can see the entire family close up.  Amazing!

The day I visited, mother owl was brooding her baby who sleepily stirred on the nest.  The baby yawned and blinked.  He stretched and poked at the ferns with his beak.  Mama sheltered him with her wing and Papa watched from his nearby roost.  All was peaceful.  This baby is well protected by two powerful adult owls with sharp beaks and talons and by signs and explanations from the National Park rangers.

Chuck took plenty of pictures while we were there and returned a week later to see how much the baby had grown.  Click on the photo to see what he looked like last weekend.

So cute!

(photos by Chuck Tague)

Before Christmas I missed one of the most exciting bird events to occur at our library in a long time.

Normally I visit the main branch of Carnegie Library several times a week.  It’s an appealing destination in winter: warm and dry, the right distance for a lunchtime walk, lots of books, free Internet access, food and drink at the cafe, a good view of the Pitt peregrines from the front steps (if they’re visible), and the possibility of running into friends.

But that week I worked through lunch so I missed Nature, red in tooth and claw — er, rather, red in beak and claw — when an immature red-tailed hawk very publicly ate a gray squirrel near the library’s front door.  (Don’t look too closely if you’re squeamish!)

The event was impossible to miss, if only I’d been there.  Fortunately I received this photo from Beth Lawry and read about it on the library’s Eleventh Stack blog.  Click on the photo to reach the blog.

Apparently I’m not the only one who spends lunchtime at the library.

(photo by Beth Lawry)

Bald eagles, that is. Though most birds have left the northern part of the continent by now, December is a great time to see these majestic birds of prey. 

Bald eagles are sea eagles, more closely related to white-tailed eagles than to goldens, so you’ll always find them near open water.  As the lakes freeze up north, bald eagles move south and then to the rivers.

Near Pennsylvania the best place by far to see winter eagles is at Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland.  Unfortunately Conowingo is a 4.5 hour drive from Pittsburgh so when I don’t have the time to make the trip there are places in western Pennsylvania where I can find an eagle or two – or more.

Pymatuning is one such place, about two hours away.  Bald eagles live at the lake year round and nest within sight of the Game Commission Wildlife Learning Center. It’s easy for them to stay all year, even in freezing conditions, because there’s always some open water at the spillway.

Even closer and only a 45-minute drive is Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park, a good place for eagles when the lake’s not completely frozen.  The Three Rivers Birding Club held an outing there last Saturday and was treated to a heart-stopping moment when a pair of bald eagles attacked a flock of coots.  Watch the 3RBC website and their newsletter, The Peregrine, for details on what happened next. 

You can also find bald eagles at Crooked Creek Lake in Armstrong County, only an hour away.  A pair of eagles nested there last year and are courting now in preparation for nesting in January.  I saw both adults last weekend plus two of their “kids” as I watched from the Overlook.  Marge Van Tassel and Steve Gosser tipped me off to this site. Shown above is Steve’s picture of one of the immatures taken on December 5th.  Nice, eh?

And the colder it gets, the more likely you won’t even have to leave town to see an eagle.  As the lakes freeze bald eagles will come to Pittsburgh’s three rivers.  Watch the Allegheny, Monongahela and especially the Ohio at Dashields Dam. 

Far or near, December’s a good time to see “sea” eagles.

(photo by Steve Gosser)

With a look that strikes terror in the hearts of small birds, this sharp-shinned hawk hunted at Kim Steininger’s backyard feeders on a snowy winter day.

Kim was lucky to see him.  Though they’re present year-round in Pennsylvania and are the most numerous raptor at hawk watches this month, sharp-shins are very unusual in my Pittsburgh neighborhood in winter.

The last time I saw a sharp-shinned hawk was quite recent, though.  Last Monday I sat on top of a cliff called Giant Ledge in the Slide Mountain Wilderness of the Catskill Mountains and gazed to the east.  It was a chilly overcast day with no bird activity.  The maple and beech forest below me was clad in reds and yellows.  I could see for miles.  No birds.

Then one small hawk rose from the valley floor 1,000 feet below.  He circled to gain altitude and in a matter of minutes rose past my line of sight until he was above all the mountains.  Then he set his course and disappeared to the south.  Flap, flap, glide.

(photo by Kim Steininger)