Kestrel Cam

Kestrel Cam 2011

2011-02-24T17:59:00.002Z

After clearing out a squirrel drey from the box, the camera is now in place for the coming breeding season and the box is already seeing some visitors. So far we've had Blue Tit, Great Tit, Jackdaw and both male & female Kestrel.

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Jackdaws

Male Kestrel

Female Kestrel

It looks like we may have a little battle between the Jackdaws and Kestrels for the right to use the box, we shall see over the coming weeks. Last year it was late March before the kestrels started to visit the box, beating off competition from a pair of Tawny owls. By Mid-April the female had laid 5 eggs, all of which went on to hatch and successfully fledge.

You can see the photos & video from 2010 over on Flickr, to keep up to date with the latest comings and goings on the box you can also follow us on Twitter - Kestrelcam

Eggs and Incubation

2010-04-17T13:13:00.000+01:00

Crécelle laid the first egg sometime overnight on 13/14 April, this is some 8 or 9 days earlier than the kestrels that used this box last year (we don't know of it is the same pair but likely) laid the first egg. Eggs are normally laid at 2-day intervals, on schedule with that, the second egg was spotted on the 16th.

The average size for a clutch in kestrels is 4.7, with the clutch size being related to the laying date. Clutch size can also be linked to the vole population, with good vole years resulting in larger clutch sizes. Last year the clutch size for this box was five eggs, resulting in four hatching and successfully hatching. Based on the laying date we should see a larger clutch this year maybe six or seven.

Incubation normally starts after the third egg is laid and lasts between 26-34 days. The Crécelle will do most of the incubation with Hover delivering food and helping keep the eggs warm whilst Crécelle feeds.

Introducing Hover and Crécelle

2010-04-15T17:02:00.000+01:00

It's been suggested that the kestrels starring in Kestrel Cam should be given names. After a little bit of thought and input from others it has been decided to call them Hover (male) and Crécelle (female).

Hover is fairly straight forward in reasoning since the kestrel is the only small British bird of prey which hovers whilst hunting.

Hover

Crécelle (pronounced cray-cell) comes from the French "to rattle" which refers to the kestrel's call, the French name for the kestrel is Crécerelle.

Crécelle

Unlike most raptors, kestrels display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having less black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars on females. Which should help you tell them apart. Also Hover, unlike Crécelle, has a BTO ring on his right leg, although it is much too small to try and read the identification number.

It's early days in the breeding process for Hover and Crécelle, the first egg was laid overnight on the 13/14 April and we can hope to expect another 2-4 eggs. Stay tuned!

Kestrels Settling Down

2010-04-05T10:02:00.000+01:00

Over the last few days the kestrels have started to visit the box on a more regular basis, with no further appearances from the tawny owls. Hopefully the tawny owls have decided to use the second box that has been put up lower down in the same tree.

Yesterday saw the male bringing food to the box for the female. She was very appreciative, immediately taking it from him and leaving the box to eat it elsewhere.

Over the coming couple of weeks we should see the box used for longer periods of time and the female eventually laying her first egg.

Kestrels Vs Tawnys

2010-04-01T19:46:00.000+01:00

The kestrels have been trying to settle down in the box this past week and get ready for breeding. However on Tuesday a tawny owl decided to roost in the box for the day much to the kestrel's displeasure. The video below shows the tawny owl in the box with the kestrel buzzing the box about 30 seconds in. The tawny owl stood it's ground all day only leaving the box at dusk.

On Wednesday the kestrels had the box back to themselves but come this morning the tawny was back this time with it's mate. You can just make out the second owl in the photo below.

This was at 6am, by 8.30 they had disappeared and the male kestrel was back. Both kestrels visited the box again later in the day.

I've now put up a second box, more suitable to tawny owls, lower down the tree. I'm hoping the tawnys will take to that and leave the kestrels to enjoy the penthouse suite!

Guess Who's Back?

2010-03-30T13:22:00.000+01:00

Just as I thought it was all set for the Kestrels to let us have a great view of their breeding season, a intruder has crashed the party! This happened last year and resulted in the kestrels moving to a different next box.

Now, there is no way to tell if this is Orly or Yarly from last year but the Kestrels we not happy! They made a hell of a noise this morning, which is what alerted me to a potential intruder. The Tawny owls won the occupation battle last time, although the didn't successfully raise any chicks.

The plan will be to erect a Tawny owl nest box in the same tree tonight and hope that our intruder decides that to be a better place to stay. It may well be that the Tawny owl is just planning to roost for one day but putting up the other nest box will reduce the risk, I hope, of them taking the kestrels box for a second year.

You can read about last year by using the blog post links on the right. Stay tuned here for further updates over the next couple of days. You can also get the latest happening via Twitter via http://twitter.com/Kestrelcam

Kestrel Cam is Back For 2010

2010-03-29T21:23:00.003+01:00

It's spring 2010 and Kestrel Cam is back. After the unplanned morph into Tawny Cam during 2009, this year the camera has been moved to a new location. The camera is now viewing a kestrel box that was in use last year and the Kestrels successfully raised 4 chicks.

The male and female kestrel are currently showing interest in the box, visiting it 2 or 3 times a day for anything up to an hour. Over the next couple of weeks we should discover if they are to use the box for raising a brood on 2010!

No Owl Chicks This Year for Orly & Yarly.

2009-05-08T17:14:00.010+01:00

The sad news is that this year there will be no owl chicks fledging from the box as Orly and Yarly have abandoned the nest. Orly was last seen in the box at 4.45am Friday, leaving behind the remaining egg.

Tweet, the chick that hatched at some point between midnight Wednesday and 7am Wednesday, could not be seen on camera Thursday night. Leading to suspicion that it may have died and either eaten or removed from the nest by Orly. A check of the box on Saturday morning revealed no signs of the chick either in the box or on the ground near the tree. The un-hatched egg was removed from the box.

The signs had not been good for about a week or so. Yarly (the male) was not seen visiting the nest with food as often as he should of. We should have expected between 2 and 4 visits with food per night. This led to Orly having to leave the nest to hunt when she was meant to be incubating the eggs.

Orly was leaving the eggs for periods of up to 3 hours, no doubt driven by hunger. On Tweet's first full night Orly left the box for nearly 4 hours, Tweet must have got cold as it was not a warm night and nothing to help keep the temperature up.

The reason for Yarly not bring enough food back to the box is unclear but could be down to poor hunting skills or more likely a lack of available prey. Tawny owls do have a varied diet that includes small mammals, frogs, worms, beetles and also small birds. However a predicted bad year for voles could have been a significant factor in Yarly's inability to provide enough prey for both himself and Orly.

The BTO are already reporting the signs of a poor year for Tawny owls - "This is almost certainly due to 2009 being a very poor vole year, with the cyclic population of voles being much less predictable in recent years." Read more on the BTO Demog blog.

It will be interesting to see how the nearby Kestrels perform this year after their forced re-location to a new box 100m away. Last year they laid 4 eggs, 3 of which hatched and successfully fledged. This year they have produced 5 eggs.

Below is an image of Orly visiting the box for the last time on Friday morning.

The camera is still watching the box, capturing an image if anything makes an appearance but I think it's unlikely we'll see any more visitors this year.

What to do if you find a young Tawny Owl.

2009-05-02T09:08:00.006+01:00

This time of year it's not uncommon to find young birds on the ground, most probably in close proximity to their nest.

Tawny owls have a habit of 'branching' out from the nest at a very young age. Usual branching occurs after 4 weeks about a week or so before they are capable of flying. During this period the chicks quite often fall to the ground.

People finding young owlets in this situation often think the owl is in trouble, however in the vast majority of instances this is not the case.

It is not unknown for Tawny owls to nest on the ground, although this is rare.

A Tawny owl chick being ringed.

The Barn Owl Trust have produced a very informative guide to what you should do. You can download the guide from their website. Below is a quick guide of their advice.

It is very important to remember (or find out) exactly where the owlet was picked up.

If the owlet was found in woodland or near trees in March, April or May, it is almost certainly a young Tawny Owl.

It is perfectly natural for Tawny owlets to be out of the nest before they can fly.

Young Tawny owls are very good climbers and the are quite capable of getting back up to the nest under their own steam after dark.

Adult Tawny Owls will feed their young wherever they are - even on the ground.

By far the best thing is to take the owl back to where it was found (but after you've read the Bawn Owl Trust leaflet).

The owlet will not be rejected by its parents because it's been handled by humans - they have very little sense of smell.

Hand rearing the owlet and releasing it later is NOT the best thing for it.

If you are unsure of what to do seek advice from a local vet or the RSPCA, they are likely to know someone locally who has experience of handling owls.

Orly and the Alien

2009-04-25T10:30:00.005+01:00

I was reviewing the photos captured by the camera on Thursday night and discovered the one below. It would appear that Orly is sharing the nest box with an alien. Ok so it's a really brave spider that may well have been eaten buy now but the photo looks freaky.

What of the Kestrels?

2009-04-15T20:55:00.003+01:00

What of the kestrels, it was their box after all.

In 2008 a pair of Kestrels successfully used the nest box to raise three youngsters. When it became clear that the Tawny owls would evict them this year, I made a few repairs to an old nest box and placed it in a large oak tree close to the house.

Over the last couple of weeks the Kestrels have slowly taken ownership of the new box. Spending time in and around the box, whilst also mating near the nest.

If the Kestrels are as successful as last year, when they had 3 chicks fledged, then it will be a good year.

Photos below show the female kestrel in and around the next box.

Technical Issues!

2009-04-14T19:18:00.002+01:00

19:20 - 14/04/09 - The live video and static images are not being updated at the moment. The software I was using to put the images online has stopped working this afternoon.

Currently looking for an alternative! Will get the pictures back up as soon as I can.

Video Footage from Box

2009-04-13T08:57:00.003+01:00

Orly is now sat on two eggs, it's highly unlikely that she will lay any more. The incubation period for Tawny owls is between 28-32 days normally, so we can expect to see the first one hatch around the 8th May.

Orly spends all day sat on the eggs at the back of the box. Once it's dark she becomes more active, preening and also leaving the box a few times a night for short periods. Yarly also stops by each night with food.

The video below is made from a series of images taken form the box last night and complied into a video.

More videos of the owls can be found on YouTube.

Our Owls are Called - Orly & Yarly

2009-04-10T21:26:00.003+01:00

Had a few suggestions for names for our two owls, some good, some bad. A friend pointed me to the "Internet Owls". As I'd also found the same on my travels across the information super highway and the fact I can't come up with anything better, Orly for the female & Yarly for the male it is.

More naming fun will hopefully occur when Orly & Yarly's chicks hatch.

Second Egg Laid

2009-04-10T08:09:00.004+01:00

The female laid her second egg some time in the early hours on the 8th April, around 72hrs after the first.

The female is now sitting on the eggs and hopefully we will see the first one hatch around the 8th May.

Tawny Lays First Egg.

2009-04-05T10:24:00.003+01:00

Great news, at around 5.19 this morning the female laid the first egg. Hopefully a few more will follow at intervals of up to 48hrs. Shortly after laying the egg she left the box and returned 40 minutes later. She has since been lying up at the back of the box, where I'd expect her to remain for the rest of the day.

I'll post more photos as and when she lays more eggs. The female should start brooding once the 2nd egg is layed, with the first hatching taking place around 30 days later.

Is it time to rename the site Tawny Cam?

2009-03-31T20:49:00.017+01:00

Is it time to rename the site Tawny Cam? It looks more and more likely that I'll need to rename the site Tawny Cam. The Tawny owls are visiting the box every night currently. Last night it was on two occasions, the first for just over 50 minutes. The camera has also captured images of the male bringing food to the nest box for the female.

The kestrels are no longer visiting the box in the daytime. They have however taken a great deal of interest in the second nest box that has been erected about 75 m away. Unfortunately there is no camera in that box but it's location will make a good photography site to hopefully get photos of the adults going to and from the box.

Whilst we await for some egg laying action, here's some facts about Tawny owls and what we might expect over the coming months.

Hollow the Tawny Owl - Captive Bred

Courting Period: December to early April. Peak period March

Egg Laying: February to mid-April. Peak period mid-March to early April. Duration 2 to 4 days

Incubation: February to mid-May. Peak period mid-March to early May. Duration 28 to 30 days

Hatching: March to mid-May. Peak period mid-April to early May.

Young in nest: Mid-April to late June. Peak period mid-April to late May.

Juvenile Dispersal: July to late September. Peak period mid-April to late May.

Tawny owls usually lay 2-3 eggs but occasionally up to eight, normally at intervals of 48 hours. Incubation starts with the second egg in clutches of two or more. The eggs hatch asynchronously with the young being brooded by the female for up to 15 days after hatching. During this time the food is delivered by the male.

The photo above is of Hollow the Tawny owl who is a captive bred owl and lives at The Barn Owl Centre just outside Gloucester. The Barn Owl Centre is a UK registered charity, with the mission of the advancement of conservation of the Barn Owl & other species of Owl.

Follow on Twitter for all the latest updates - www.twitter.com/kestrelcam

Tawny Owls and Kestrels

2009-03-23T20:54:00.005Z

The first visitor to the next box this year was a Tawny owl, soon followed by a Little owl and Kestrels. Although we have not seen the Little owl again, the Tawny owls have been regular evening visitors and the Kestrels during the day.

The camera has captured both Tawny owls visiting the box on numerous occasions, both Kestrels have also been seen in the box.

Tawny owls

Kestrels

Over the last few days the kestrels have shown more interest in the second box that I put up 100m away. Although we have no camera in the second box it seems likely that the Tawny owls will occupy the first box since they lay their eggs earlier in the season.

Once either of the Tawny owls or Kestrels decide to nest in the box, I'll add a page to the site that will update every five minutes with the latest image from the box.

An interesting start to 2009

2009-03-14T22:16:00.001Z

Well, it's been an interesting start to the 2009 nest box season. The box remained in place through the winter, long after last years chicks had fledged.

During this period I started to plan the improvements to the camera set-up so that the problems of last year weren't replicated (the camera got nudged out of position by the chicks).

In late January I replaced the nest box with a new one, into which I had built room for the camera, separated from the nesting area by a piece of perspex.

£9.99 eBay CCTV camera and IR light

I also decided to connect the camera back to the house using cable rather than wireless, this meant running 175m of cable along the hedge. Although I thought it would be more reliable, it did leave me puzzled when the picture just disappeared all of a sudden. Further investigations revealed that rabbits had nibbled through the cable.

So far we have had a variety of visitors to the box, as well as a Kestrel we have also seen a Little owl and Tawny owl drop in.

Little Owl

Kestrel

Tawny Owl

So far the Tawny owls are showing the most interest, last night saw both the male and female inside the box at the same time. Due to the interest of the Tawny owls in the box I've placed another Kestrel box in a tree near by so that the kestrels will still have somewhere to nest should they not be able to use the same box as last year.

Stay tuned for more updates as and when the first eggs are laid.