Yesterday, I saw that one of the kestrel chicks had fledged from the nest box on the Palisade farm house. American Kestrels are the smallest North
American falcon. I moved an orchard ladder to the box and poked my phone camera in the entrance to snap a photo. There were three more young close to fledging. One fledged the nest later in the afternoon, and the last two this morning. Today, all four young are arrayed on trees around the yard, screaming their new found falconness in hope of being fed another mouse, grasshopper or lizard. Pickings are slim given the dry conditions. The adult kestrels follow me around as I irrigate the wildlife shelter belt, protesting my presence and uncaring that I provided some 35 generations of kestrels with clean, free housing.
A little distressing are the eight baby magpies and four adults wandering the yard looking for any meaty morsel. The Gambel's Quail chicks haven't a chance.
At our home in NW Boulder County, we again have American Dippers nesting in a box in the stream by the cabin. I've placed about 35 of these boxes on rivers around the state since 1984. Several boxes within a few miles are currently in use now. I expect that four dipper chicks will fledge our in stream nest box sometime between July 3-8. If the river is amenable I hope to band the dippers before they fledge.
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