The Gift of Kestrels

Although the Spring migration is the most exciting time of the year, for most species it is difficult to actually see a bird migrating. Almost all of our regular songbirds migrate at night, primarily to avoid predation by hawks. In Spring we only know a night migration has occurred when we go out in the morning and find new birds have arrived.

The hawks themselves migrate during the day, but it takes a little effort to see them do so. They generally fly quite high and are seen as small specks or not at all by the naked eye. You can spot them by scanning the sky with binoculars. In Spring the last two weeks of April are the time when most of our hawks arrive or move by on their way farther north.

One species people now think of when they are talking about hawks is the peregrine falcon. However, the peregrine was never a common bird in New England, and before DDT the only nesting sites known in Hampden County were the cliffs of Mt. Tom in Holyoke and Mt. Tekoa in Westfield. Now we have one pair using the buildings or bridges of Springfield.

This Springfield pair does not migrate much, probably spending the winter on the nearby coasts of Connecticut or Long Island, only a few hours flight time away. The peregrines that do migrate, travel between the Arctic tundra and the coasts of tropical America. Most of them migrate along or off the coast, so they also are rarely seen here in our inland region. The peregrine is not truly a typical bird of our area.

There is a falcon that we do see here, however, both as a migrant and a breeder. That is the American kestrel. Falcon is the word used to describe a particular group of hawks which are fast flying birds of the open country. They are distinguished by their narrow, long pointed wings which they use for swift flight to attack their prey.

The kestrel is our most colorful hawk, the male showing a rich, red back and tail contrasting with blue wings. The back and wings of the female are red with heavy black barring. The white face of both sexes has two black whisker marks on the side, similar to the peregrine. The peregrine may be spectacular and the eagle majestic, but I like to think of the kestrel as a more worthy emblem of America; bright and beautiful, but down to earth.

The kestrel is much smaller than the peregrine and captures mostly large insects or small rodents, only occasionally a bird. They hunt from an isolated perch in a field or by flying and hovering over a field. When they see a grasshopper, beetle, or mouse, they plummet swiftly down to seize it. The kestrel is a species in serious decline everywhere in the northeast because of the loss of grasslands.

Twenty or more of these falcons were counted near the river in the east meadows of Northampton one day this week. Like the red-tailed hawk they also like to use the grasses along the interstate highways for hunting areas. When the skies clear and the winds turn to the southwest, they continue the journey farther north to Maine or New Brunswick, where more and larger grasslands await them. When migrating, they can soar very high, but you can always tell them by those pointed wings.

Last week I counted nine kestrels flying past my Granville hawkwatch, the same day over two hundred were counted migrating at Plum Island, a barrier beach north of Boston. It is a thrill to see these birds course steadily past in ones and twos. They seem a never-ending stream of life coming from unknown places and passing on to what was once a certain destination. Will the home they left months ago still be there when they arrive?

Kestrels can be helped to breed, because they nest in tree cavities and will use a nest box. Last year a pair of kestrels nested in one I put up, and they have already returned this Spring. There is a special sense of pride in seeing these two handsome falcons sitting side by side on a home you built and provided. When you hear of falcons, think of the kestrel, our true New England falcon.