Sat 11/7/09 - I got as close to a Kestrel as I ever have today - I noticed it perched on a wire near our church school on Seighrist Rd. (West Hempfield Twp -Lancaster County, PA) As normal these sighting happen when I am WC (without camera). What was not normal is that after I fetched the camera and Florence (about 15 min later) he was still there.
Kestrels are amazing birds, the smallest of the falcon family, the are beautifully marked and fascinating flyers. They can hover in one place like a hummer and often will do this over an open field looking for the movement of a small rodent, their major food source. They will eat insects also.
I have seen them many times in the past but they are very leery of man. They will often fly from a perch as you approach and then perch again 20 or 30 yards away and will keep repeating this untill they get tired of you following them - then they fly out of sight. They often return to the same hunting grounds if they are successful.
This guy allowed me to get close enough for a good picture. (see above) Come to think of it I did get closer to a Kestrel once. I was between tours and taking a nap in the car waiting on the second bus - I awoke to discover a Kestrel perched on a fence post about 20 feet from me and of course I had no camera. I did enjoy the experience.
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