A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BABY KESTRELS
(story by Jackie Gunnarshaug
photographs © 2004 Anne Kehmna)

It was just another Friday morning at Sunny Valley Preserve in New Milford. The sun was shining (of course, no one would expect anything else at Sunny Valley) a variety of birds were flying in and out of their nesting boxes and their songs filled the air. From a birds eye view, life was good!

All of a sudden, a good size box that was on the side of a silo came crashing to the ground. Thankfully, there was a staff person close by who saw the box and immediately examined it for its content. Lo and behold, upon opening the lid, he found five baby Kestrels. Three smaller ones were huddled in one corner and two larger ones were in another corner. Our staff person picked the box up and brought the birds to the office for safety. Upon inspection, the birds appeared to be unharmed. However, being novices to this situation, we put calls out to several wildlife rehabilitators for advice. It was the general consensus, to get the box back to the silo as soon as possible.

Within two hours, all five babies were back on the side of the silo waiting for mama to return with some tasty morsels. Sure enough, she was back on the job and very happy to have her family home again. Dad was also spotted taking his turn to nourish his offspring.

What impressed me the most through this experience was the deep concern that so many showed for our find feathered friends. Every message that was left on answering machines were returned to us by the end of the day. One birder, who participates in our Migratory Bird Day count for us, dropped everything and drove right over to identify the birds for us and give us added support until everything was under control. Both she and another birder came over the next morning and sat in their car watching to make sure that mom and dad Kestrel returned to care for their young. One wildlife rehabilitator stopped by the office at the end of the day to also check on the situation for us.
(Click here for a close up look at the kestrel)

In closing, I just want to say thank you to all those that truly care for all of God's little creatures!