2008 Woodie Awards
Russ Hall renovators discover nest of protected raptors
Doug Graham
Issue date: 6/26/08 Section: Front Page
Riggin says these birds, the smallest of the falcon family, are beautiful but deadly - a fact that a nearby nest of starlings discovered the hard way.
"One of the kestrels did take a starling in mid-flight - caught one in the air, which is quite a spectacle," Atkins said. "They also went in and captured some starlings that were in a nest in another piece of that overhang. The kestrels located those chicks and fed those chicks to their own chicks."
Delia Lister, director of PSU's Nature Reach program, says that kestrels are "fascinating birds."
"They're really built for agility and speed," said Lister, who sometimes brings raptors such as American Kestrels to elementary classrooms. "When they're hunting they can hover over a field. It just has to do with the shape of the wing. The wings are very triangular."
While people might not stumble upon a kestrel every day, Lister says that when people find baby birds, the same rules apply no matter the breed of bird.
"The best thing to do is just leave it alone," Lister said. "Leave it on the ground, or if you see the nest, just put it back in the nest. Most of the time it'll fall back out, but that'll keep it from being eaten by feral cats or dogs."
"One of the kestrels did take a starling in mid-flight - caught one in the air, which is quite a spectacle," Atkins said. "They also went in and captured some starlings that were in a nest in another piece of that overhang. The kestrels located those chicks and fed those chicks to their own chicks."
Delia Lister, director of PSU's Nature Reach program, says that kestrels are "fascinating birds."
"They're really built for agility and speed," said Lister, who sometimes brings raptors such as American Kestrels to elementary classrooms. "When they're hunting they can hover over a field. It just has to do with the shape of the wing. The wings are very triangular."
While people might not stumble upon a kestrel every day, Lister says that when people find baby birds, the same rules apply no matter the breed of bird.
"The best thing to do is just leave it alone," Lister said. "Leave it on the ground, or if you see the nest, just put it back in the nest. Most of the time it'll fall back out, but that'll keep it from being eaten by feral cats or dogs."
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