This is the story of Jeff, a young male kestrel who lost his mother when he was just days old and is now preparing for a family of his own. To support my channel and my wildlife rehabilitation and conservation work, please donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=A52ZHAMJZC3J4 or join one of my supporter communities in exchange for behind the scenes content here: https://www.robertefuller.com/support_and_donate/ JEFF THE KESTREL This particular kestrel is very special to me. He was the youngest of a clutch of six kestrel chicks I rescued last year and I've followed his story closely. MR & MRS KES Jeff's parents, Mr & Mrs Kes were known to be a caring couple, but their world fell apart when Mrs Kess suddenly disappeared, possibly due to illness. The chicks were too young to survive and I took the weakest three - including Jeff - into my care. SINGLE KESTREL DAD Once Jeff and his siblings were old enough I returned them to the wild nest. Male kestrels are not known to feed or brood their chicks but Mr Kes defied convention and took to the role admirably. More on the story here: https://www.robertefuller.com/diary/kestrel-dad-learns-how-to-dad/ FAVOURITE CHICK As the chicks grew, it was easy to pick Jeff out. He was always up front at mealtimes and his cheeky character meant he quickly became my favourite. KESTRELS FLEDGE But when, one by one, Jeff's siblings learned to fly and dispersed, Jeff was slow to follow. He was the last to fledge - watch him get an encouraging final feed from me - and then never left the territory. CONFUSION Jeff's continuing presence caused some confusion and for a while Mr Kes, who was ready to begin courting again, mistook him for a female. Not much is known about inbreeding in kestrels and so I followed their interaction with interest. Neither kestrel attempted to mate, but their behaviour was odd.. JUVENILE KESTRELS Male juvenile kestrels don't get their distinctive grey/blue feathering until they are almost a year old and so it wasn't until I was able to get a good reading of Jeff's ID tag that I realised he was a male! JEFF MATURES On the 4th of May, Jeff turned one-year old. This is the age at which kestrels are ready to begin families of their own. AWKWARD COURTSHIP But whilst Jeff was old enough to court, he had a lot to learn and the first female he attracted he chased away! A NEW FEMALE It wasn't too long, however, before Jeff mastered his technique and I spotted him offering a new female a mouse as a gift. This was a good sign the relationship could work and I named his new mate Jenny. KESTREL COUTRSHIP BOWS For kestrels, male courtship displays involve bowing and Jeff was so enthusiastic he looked like his head may fall off! NEXT TIME… In the next film, Jenny lays a beautiful clutch of kestrel eggs. Subscribe to be notified of its release. #kestrel #falcon #robertefuller #wildlives #jeffandjenny I'm a British wildlife artist based in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, UK. I build habitats to encourage wildlife into my garden and use nest cams to study their behaviour. These studies inform my paintings. I share the best of my video research on this channel for free. If you would like to support my work please consider a small donation here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=A52ZHAMJZC3J4 Or of course you may like to purchase my artwork which you will find on my website: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of the paintings are portraits of the creatures you watch here! © Robert E Fuller Copyright Disclaimer: Please feel free to share my videos but do not download any content without permission with the intent to re-upload. If you would like to license any content, please get in touch: [email protected] Stay Connected! You can also follow me on these platforms: Website: https://www.robertefuller.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertEFullerArt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertEFuller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RobertEFuller/ 00:00 Jeff the kestrel 00:14 Kestrel mother disappears 01:00 Youngest chick almost dies 01:50 Jeff tagged 02:44 First flight 03:28 Chicks disperse 03:53 Confused courtship 04:33 Jeff identified 05:01 Mr Kes disappears 05:12 Jeff gets male plumage 06:02 Encountering a tawny owl 08:00 Awkward courtship 08:36 Jeff now one 08:58 Jeff & Jenny 09:28 Kestrel Courtship 11:49 Next Time…
