American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Case 1
Fledgling Kestrel returned to parents in the heart of downtown Birmingham
A
young Kestrel was found on the sidewalk in downtown Birmingham, less than a
block from Linn Park, a small city park surrounded by tall buildings. We gave
the young bird a thorough exam and found no injuries, so the next day I recorded
its alarm calls and arranged to have the bird’s finder show me exactly where he
had found the bird. When I arrived at the location, I immediately spotted the
nest, a drain hole in the side of the Land & Title building, a three-story
office building with a flat roof. I obtained permission to get up on the roof,
and carried the young bird and the tape recorder up to see what could be
done. When I looked out on the surrounding office buildings looming overhead, I
felt that the situation was quite hopeless. How could I possibly locate two tiny
falcons in the midst of all of this human activity? Nevertheless, I played the
tape of the young kestrel’s alarm calls, a shrill, kek-kek-kek that has
tremendous carrying power for such a small bird. Within 5 minutes I spotted a
male Kestrel swooping in to land on the parapet of the building directly across
the street. Looking up, I could see the female hovering directly above the
male. The birds had responded to the alarm calls immediately, despite the
background noise of traffic. I took the young Kestrel out of the traveling box
and held her up on my outstretched hand, hoping the parents would fly to my side
of the street. Instead, the young bird fluttered out of my hand. It was her
first flight, and I held my breath for fear she would not make it, but she
remained airborne, and soon landed safely beside the male on the other side of
20th Street. This was a reunion that just could not have happened
without the aid of the alarm calls.
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