Kestrel chick

thyme

What are the chances of this chick surviving, came across it on the forest floor late yesterday evening, so went back home and grabbed an old wicker basket and a ladder, went back to forest put the chick in the basket and went up as high as I could go, tied the basket to a branch and got out of there.



I went back down early this morning with a longer extension ladder to go up higher, but when I got there both adults were there and there was a larger chick sitting on a branch of a tree beside the basket. They were having a big discussion about something, so I left.
Went back down later on and all was quite, so put the ladder up to see if it was still in there and it was, and it looks like it got something to eat, there's blood on it's beak and in the basket.
So what are it's chances of surviving.

Tiercel Dave

That chick should be well able to scramble through the branches, I'd put it as high as you can and leave it be. Once it's safe from predators it should be ok. If it's muting (crapping), that means food is going through, nice and watery, good white splash with black spot!
You can feel how much food it has onboard, the crop is slightly to the left above it's 'shoulders'. Good luck, Dave

TopTec

Fair play to you Thyme for making the effort. Great idea with the basket too. Hope all goes well. Keep us updated please...

TT

thyme

Went back down with the ladder this evening to move the basket up higher, and when I got to the tree there was a lot of feathers on the ground, so I thought something was after taken the chick.
What a surprise I got when I went up to have a look, the second chick was in the basket, a quick snap and I left.



So far so good .

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Absolutely magnificent piece of work and deserving of much praise.

Can I just suggest you now stop climbing to check and photograph the next/basket as it may cause unnecessary disturbance and is on dodgey legal grounds?

Well done - my nomination for naturalist of the month!

TopTec

^^^^ Second that ^^^^^

Brilliant picture too.

TT

Bonedigger

Fantastic stuff thyme!:)

thyme

Holden Weak Club wrote: »

Absolutely magnificent piece of work and deserving of much praise.

Can I just suggest you now stop climbing to check and photograph the next/basket as it may cause unnecessary disturbance and is on dodgey legal grounds?

Well done - my nomination for naturalist of the month!

This evening was my last time to go with the ladder, when I seen the second chick there that was it , your on your now. I'll watch from a distance with the bins.
And I could have a bigger problem when someone goes looking for the basket:D.

Obliq

Just want to say that this is super cool and fabulous Thyme! Looks like the whole family are delighted with the new "nest". What a great idea! Maybe we should all be roping baskets high up in trees before nesting time to encourage them?!

Tiercel Dave

Just two points. The chicks hatch over a period of a few days, there might be about 6 days between the first and the last. In that 'basket' pic there is a good age difference between the two birds. It takes a long time for the down to go from the head, and there are only a couple of specks visible on the older bird. Not very scientific I know but I would say the feathered chick is about 14 days, or more, older than the downy chick. Ideas?
And as for building artificial nest platforms, I don't think Kestrels really need assistance. They have a varied choice of sites, old 'crow' nests, jackdaw holes, and ledges on old buildings/castles. However, where Merlins are known to be about, I do think there is a case for putting platforms in likely nesting spots. Just a flat basket base with a 'cup' of sticks or whatever. And I know some of these have already been done but what about a few more.......Dave http://www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/ospry.pdf

Obliq

No Merlins around here unfortunately. I love the nest platform details though :-)

Capercaille

Tiercel Dave wrote: »

Just two points. The chicks hatch over a period of a few days, there might be about 6 days between the first and the last. In that 'basket' pic there is a good age difference between the two birds. It takes a long time for the down to go from the head, and there are only a couple of specks visible on the older bird. Not very scientific I know but I would say the feathered chick is about 14 days, or more, older than the downy chick. Ideas?
And as for building artificial nest platforms, I don't think Kestrels really need assistance. They have a varied choice of sites, old 'crow' nests, jackdaw holes, and ledges on old buildings/castles. However, where Merlins are known to be about, I do think there is a case for putting platforms in likely nesting spots. Just a flat basket base with a 'cup' of sticks or whatever. And I know some of these have already been done but what about a few more.......Dave http://www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/ospry.pdf

BWI put 30 nest baskets out for merlin in 2012.

TopTec

Capercaille wrote: »

BWI put 30 nest baskets out for merlin in 2012.

And?.................. Come on, in suspense here....

TT

thyme

Both chicks are still there alive and well, perched on the edge of the basket this morning. I'am wondering now if there was/is any more chicks in the nest higher up, an old Ravens nest that they took over.

Capercaille

TopTec wrote: »

And?.................. Come on, in suspense here....

TT

The provision of artificial nesting sites for raptors in Connemara: Connemara in West Galway is one of the national strongholds for the endangered Merlin population in Ireland and holds one of the highest recorded densities of nesting Kestrel. With funding from the Heritage Council, BirdWatch Ireland aimed to benefit and help conserve both species in Connemara and also facilitate further research through the strategic provision of artificial nesting sites for three species, Kestrel, Merlin and Long-eared Owl. This is the first time such as scheme has been undertaken for the latter two species in Ireland. To date 29 baskets for Merlin, three baskets for Long-eared Owl and seven nest boxes for Kestrel have been constructed and installed at suitable sites during the winter of 2012. All sites were monitored throughout the breeding season 2012 and the first breeding attempt of Long-eared Owl in an artificial basket was recorded in Ireland. Further boxes and baskets will be installed in this autumn and all will be monitored in the coming years to help understand more about the ecology and status of these raptors.
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Publications/eWings/eWingsIssue37October2012/Raptorconservationeffortsin2012/tabid/1285/Default.aspx

thyme

Monday morning was the last time I saw the small chick at the basket, was down there Monday evening until dark and nothing, went back down on Tuesday morning and still nothing not even a sound.
I think it may have tried to follow the larger chick and ended up somewhere in the undergrowth which is to thick for it to get back out off.
So much for trying to save it.

The larger one has doubled in size and flying around the tree tops when the mother calls.

thyme

The older chick kept coming back to the basket for another week, but now it and the adults are gone.

Obliq

Oh my god, that's the cutest kestrel picture ever :cool:

Kess73

thyme wrote: »

Monday morning was the last time I saw the small chick at the basket, was down there Monday evening until dark and nothing, went back down on Tuesday morning and still nothing not even a sound.
I think it may have tried to follow the larger chick and ended up somewhere in the undergrowth which is to thick for it to get back out off.
So much for trying to save it.

The larger one has doubled in size and flying around the tree tops when the mother calls.

So there were five or six days between putting the chick into the basket for the first time, and the day you last saw the chick?

Could well be the case that it simply have gotten to the stage where it was able to leave the "nest" properly, and was at the stage that it's elder sibling was at maybe a week earlier.


Regardless of what happened, you gave that young bird a fighting chance to survive and everything after that was always going to be down to nature being nature.


You should be proud of what you did, and it is actions like that taken by you that helps the wildlife in this country.