Young Male Kestrel Meets His Match in Courtship

in mid-april i'm excited to see a new male kestrel around at ashwood he seems to have set up his territory here and i name him apollo he's looking for a place to nest [Music] but there's one thing this young male is missing a female to produce a brood of chicks he sits in the entrance and seems to be calling it a female and eventually manages to attract a potential mate but this nest has been occupied by a barn owl while he was away so the kestrels head off to find a new nest of their own apollo so keen is checking out all the potential nest sites nearby [Music] and visiting the nests further afield at fatherdale too and some of the residents don't seem best pleased by the intrusion in spring competition for the nest sites is fierce so i'm working around the clock and soon i have another nest ready so this is going to be the entrance hole and i've already cut it to shape so it's going to actually slot in here this new addition is immediately popular with the locals which wasn't part of my plan it's visited by jack doors stocktovs and even one of the resident tornados [Music] but thankfully apollo soon snakes his claim [Music] he immediately takes a like into the nest but he's still got to convince the female [Music] he tries to call her into the nest but she just won't come inside [Music] despite his best efforts the young female seems reluctant she leaves and apollo is alone once again but this determined kestrel doesn't give up his search for a mate and the very next morning he's back at the nest [Music] he forms a nest grape a shallow depression for eggs to be laid in this helps show a female that the nest is perfect and soon his hard work pays off apollo returns at speed calling excitedly he heads in and seems to be expecting company and soon a new female arrives [Music] apollo can barely contain himself bowing up and down to greet her this is athena and i can tell by a slightly gray tail she's at least three years old she checks out the young male before heading off [Music] he calls hopefully i suspect this is his first time courting but it seems to have done something right just two hours later athena's back and she enters the nest to have a closer look she seems a bit unsure about my cameras but she seems to like the nest food is a huge part of the courtship process in kestrels so next he brings in a vole for the female [Music] and she's quick to take his offering it's still early stages but it's looking quite positive for apollo and the following morning i spot her in the nest entrance [Music] apollo seems pleased to find her here too she spends the whole day here but as nightfall she senses a threat one of the toenails is back to take another look at the nest the kestrel is keen to defend a new home lashing out with the talents but she loses a footing thankfully she's undeterred by the ordeal she even digs a nest scrape of her own [Music] athena is older and more experienced than apollo and she's keen to ensure her mate knows his role during courtship the male keshers provide the females with food [Music] but recently his contributions haven't been very substantial she's not impressed and calls furiously at him [Music] but as he tries to leave she blocks the exit he seems stressed unable to escape but eventually she gives way [Music] it appears a message has got through and he soon returns with a vote [Music] food has been hard to come by with this year's late spring so he's got his work cut out providing for two but soon i spot the pair mating just off camera [Music] by mid-may athena is ready [Music] she digs a final ness scrape and overnight lays her first egg in the morning apollo returns to see his mate but instead seize their egg for the very first time after all is hard work it's so heartwarming to watch as he settles down to protect the egg from young bachelor to hard-working mates apollo has come a long way and it'll be fascinating to watch as he continues to prove himself [Music] thank you for watching and i hope you enjoyed the video don't forget to like comment and subscribe to see more here's a taste of what you'll enjoy seeing on this channel you

Channel: Robert E Fuller

Views: 357,355

Rating: 4.9626317 out of 5

Keywords: wildlife, nature, animals, birds, robert fuller, robert e fuller, Kestrel, Bird of prey, Falcon, kestrel courtship

Id: M39UxURYmCk

Length: 8min 13sec (493 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 23 2021