The 2022 story of the kestrel in Théding:
Presentation video of the 2022 nesting boxes and the novelty!
This video presents the different species of birds monitored this year on our website, as well as the novelty for this season.
A young male has been visiting since February 7
This male, with his plumage not yet fully mature (head not gray), has been visiting the various nest boxes in the house since February 7th. He doesn't seem to be completely alone, as other hawks have also approached a few times.
Roof work
11 days of work to change the roof were carried out from March 7 to 17. During this period, a few rare visits were nevertheless observed.
A couple at the nest box on March 18
Good news, from March 18, a male and a female timidly visit the nest box. Is this the couple from last year? A new ?
A day full of gifts
The male brings a lot of prey to the female to prove to her that he will be able to feed the whole family during the season. (02/04)
What a beautiful couple: Margo and Tatto!
A break on the platform of the nesting box. (02/04) Margo and Tatto, these are the names that won the votes (153 answers) for the kestrel couple of Théding! - Margo (diminutive of (Sainte-)Marguerite, name of the church in Théding from which we hear the bells through the microphones of the cameras): 35 votes (22.9%). - Tattoo (According to Wikipedia, the origin of the toponym the toponym Théding is the Germanic name Tatto + the suffix ingen:) 35 votes (22.9%).
An owl in our nest box?! Out of the question !
A barn owl wanted to spend the day with the kestrels. But they managed to send it home! Several intimidating flights and territorial calls were necessary. (09/04)
Look at my beautiful feathers
Sometimes, we can recognize some individuals by the markings in the plumage. This female has a central tail feather that is gray. (13/04)
1st egg laid
It's Easter Friday in Alsace/Moselle, and Madame has just laid her first egg at the end of the day. (15/04)
First night in the nest
In previous years, the female slept in the nest for several nights before laying eggs. But this year it's different, she leaves the nest box at night even after she has started to lay. There have been a few nocturnal visitors (barn owls), but fortunately there have been no incidents. It was not until the evening of April 22 that she settled into the nest box to spend the night. (22/04)
6 eggs this year
Here are the laying dates: – 1st egg laid: April 15 (6:49 p.m.) – 2nd egg laid: April 18 (12:08 p.m.) – 3rd egg laid: April 20 (7:50 p.m.) – 4th egg laid: April 23 (9:24 a.m.) – 5th egg laid: : April 25 (1:18 p.m.) – 6th egg laid: April 27 (4:28 p.m.) Brooding began on April 26 (the female did not incubate during the night of April 25 to 26). You can find all the dates of the Théding kestrel events on the "history" page.
It is essentially the female who broods
Everything is going well, the incubation started on April 26th. (12/05)
The male takes over
The male settles on the eggs while the female consumes the prey brought by the male. (12/05)
1st meal of newborns
A widespread internet outage in Théding lasted 4 days! On the resumption of the live video on Monday, May 23, we discover 2 falcons who have just been born. This video shows their first meal. (23/05)
3rd and 4th births
The next morning, May 24, two new births, there are now 4 falcons! In this video, the male discovers the newborns, he settles down to warm them up until the mother comes back for the beak. (24/05)
5th birth
On the morning of the 25th, less than 48 hours after the first births, the 5th baby arrived, and it will be the last, since the remaining egg will not hatch. In fact, if we observe the color of the eggs, we can see that the unhatched egg is more "pink" than the others, and it is the first egg that has been laid. (25/05)
The male warms up his young
This video is adorable, the male still comes on the little ones to warm them up. (26/05)
A ball of rejection
At 1 week old, the little ones are already able to regurgitate balls of rejection. (30/05)
The night
It's night, and the little ones no longer need to have their mother's constant warmth. She still remains very close to the falcons. (01/06)
The egg is well guarded
This unhatched egg allows us to see the growth of the young. They are now 10 days old. (02/06)
3 meals, we are no longer hungry!
We see that the food is abundant this year, 3 meals not consumed in the nest. (03/06)
The unhatched egg is removed
Today, visit to the nest, it's time to retrieve the unhatched egg to observe it. Looking with a strong light, it looks like there was no embryonic development inside. (04/06)
The female sleeps at the entrance to the nest
Now the mother no longer sleeps inside the nest box but at the entrance. (05/06)
A nice nourishment
A video of a beautiful feeding to celebrate the 13th day of young people. (05/06)
It's for them! And not for you
Funny video: the male likes to bring the food directly to the young but they still need the mother to shred the prey (09/06).
Beautiful prey
The parents are really effective in hunting, we can see the good size of the prey brought to the young (11/06).
Beware of a KK!
Watch out below, a KK is coming! At least the inside of the nest stays a little cleaner. (12/06)
Now on the balcony
The little ones discover the balcony: a good observation post to wait for the parents. (06/16)
An unknown kestrel
She is not the mother of the falcons! And the father will kindly ask him to leave. He will be encouraged by one of the little ones. (16/06)
Hunting and flying training
Wing flapping and jumping is the daily training of the young in the nest. (17/06)
Dining on the balcony
The female arrives with prey, and the falcons seem to want their mother to distribute the meal. (20/06)
What a beautiful share
Needless to say, this year the food was distributed fairly, all the youngsters were able to develop normally. (21/06)
Flight and return of the 1st falcon
That's it, the first falcon has made its first flight test with a round trip. (22/06)
Kestrels, Carrion Crows and Magpies
At the same time on November 2, a couple of kestrels, 2 black crows and 3 magpies came in front of the cameras. It's the last day of the year that we saw the kestrels here. (02/11)