Mahoosuc Bird Notes: American Kestrel | Lewiston Sun Journal - The Bethel Citizen

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American kestrel. Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Maine has three falcons that breed here routinely. The Peregrine, Merlin and the American Kestrel. The smallest of these is the American Kestrel. (Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren). This robin-sized falcon prefers short grass fields for hunting and is widely distributed throughout North and South America wherever it finds this type of habitat.

It is an ambush hunter and perches looking for insects, small mammals like mice and shrews, as well as small birds. It can also be seen hovering just above the grass in a field. In these cases, watch for it to suddenly fold its wings and pounce on hidden prey.

Male kestrels are brightly colored compared to many other birds of prey. The male has black “side-burn” stripes on its cheeks and a second set of stripes behind its eye. Two additional black splotches form what appears to be fake eyes on the back of its head. It has a blue-gray band circling its head with a reddish buff color on the crown of its head. It has the same reddish buff color on its chest, nape and back. Its wings are blue-gray and its belly is a creamy white with lines of black spots. It is a handsome bird. It has a short, deeply curved beak with the typical “tomial” notch or tooth that most falcons have. This notch is thought to help the bird quickly paralyze its prey with a strike to the back of the neck.

It is one falcon that is seeing its numbers increase especially in the Amazon where forests are being cleared and wetlands drained for cattle grazing. I’ve seen this bird all over the United States including from high atop a skyscraper in Manhattan and nesting in Boston and Cambridge. I’ve seen it most often in agricultural areas of the south and central U.S.

The bird is not as common in our area because we have more forests rather than fields. I was lucky to have a female and a begging youngster spend a week hunting from an old maple snag that once stood in my field in Albany. Your best bet for finding this bird is to watch for it sitting on power lines and fence posts along field edges. We are evaluating the re-claimed corn field at Valentine Farm to determine if it might be large enough to support nesting boxes to attract this small falcon.

James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to [email protected]

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