A longer clip from today of the female Kestrel attending to her hungry brood of five chicks. First, we see her covering the chicks to keep them warm, though this is becoming increasingly difficult as the ball of white fluffy feathers continues to grow.
The female Kestrel 'brooding' her five young (M.O'Clery, under licence from NPWS).
Then we see her suddenly attentive to something outside the box, presumably the male is calling her to come and get his latest catch. She calls to him, flies out, and quickly returns with a Pygmy Shrew. We see her feeding the eldest chick, but it immediately drops it. The female, ever attentive, picks it up and pulls it apart into more manageable portions. In this case, the eldest chick seems to get it all in three chunks, but judging by the full crops (the bulge under the throat), all of these chicks are faring very well and are certainly not going hungry.
Kestrel nest box on the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry (M.O'Clery, under licence from NPWS). Click on the 'four arrows' symbol to see it in HD).
Finally she heads of for a brief period, possibly to hunt herself. The frequency of the female leaving the chicks alone at the nest box will increase in the coming days as they become less vulnerable, more able to regulate their own body temperature, and more hungry.
More soon.
