Male kestrels are known for being pretty useless when it comes to feeding their chicks. They normally just bring in the food and dump it, leaving it to the female to serve dinner to their growing family. But Mr Kes has been learning the skill of tearing up small portions after his partner Mrs Kes disappeared this week.

Watch Mr & Mrs Kes interact live on my nest cam:    • Live From Fotherdale | Robert E Fuller   and follow their story in this playlist:    • Kestrels  Mr & Mrs Kes | Wild Lives ...  

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ABOUT THIS FILM
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This male kestrel is trying to brood

Mr Kes, a longterm resident of my North Yorkshire garden, has also tried brooding his clutch in a desperate attempt to keep them warm. Again this behaviour is unheard of among male kestrels and he's having limited success.

Kestrel chicks

The kestrel chicks have been alone for three days now and without food and some way of keeping warm they were unlikely to survive. Mr Kes' actions may well save their lives.

Mrs Kes

Their mother Mrs Kes fled the area after getting into a fight with resident tawny owls. She briefly returned to the nest entrance after the first day, but did not go inside and has not been seen since.

Defying wildlife experts

Male kestrels are not known to feed or brood chicks after they have hatched. Their job normally is just to deliver the food to the nest. In similar circumstances, kestrel chicks have been known to die surrounded by food because the males continue to deliver prey items into the nest but do not tear it up into sizes small enough for them to eat.

Mr Kes gets worried

To begin with this was also how Mr Kes behaved. He delivered more than 25 voles and rodents and heaped them around the chicks. He grew increasingly confused, going in and out of the nest and calling for the female and listening out for her.

Then slowly learns what to do

But by the afternoon of the second day, he happened to deliver a lizard and one of the kestrel chicks managed to swallow it whole. It was as if this male kestrel seemed to realise that chicks can manage if they get smaller items. And so then, on his next visit, Mr Kes tore up a vole and managed to feed each chick in turn.

Three chicks still in extensive care

Of the pairs' six chicks, only three are currently in the nest and being cared for by Mr Kes. I took the other three into my care after their first night alone. These three were very weak and would not have survived otherwise.

Night care

I wanted to see if Mrs Kes would come back since these chicks need every opportunity to be brought up wild, but it was too dangerous to leave them alone in the nest overnight when temperatures plummet and tawny owls are on the prowl. So I took all six in overnight and then returned the healthier three back to the nest at dawn the following day.

Second day alone

Throughout the next day I deliberately left the three chicks alone in the hope that they would call out in hunger to Mr Kes

What's next

Now that, Mr Kes is trying to feed the chicks, I’ve decided to give him the time to learn how to master it. However I will continue to bring them in at night to keep them safe. If things go well I may swap some of the chicks in my care with some from the nest so that they each get a chance to experience life in the wild with Mr Kes.

ABOUT ME
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I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

You may like to purchase my artwork which you can find on my website: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of my paintings are portraits of the wonderful characters you watch here!

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© Robert E Fuller

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