RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPiTER

Kestrel Day

Last night I had a dream about an American Kestrel. It was a beautiful, colorful bird and it stared intelligently at me from its perch a few feet from my window. A few minutes later some asshole knocked on my door with the Kestrel in his mouth. He had killed it and thought it would be funny to spit its mangled body on my doorstep. He thought I’d think it was funny, but I didn’t. The whole dream left me a little perturbed.

That’s why coming into my office this morning, looking out the window and seeing 2 beautiful American Kestrels perched on a tree outside my window was so odd and inspiring. I watched them until they flew off together. That’s also why today – March 25th – is heretofore American Kestrel Day.

So what is an American Kestrel? It’s a small falcon. A falcon is a bird of prey. Contrary to popular belief a falcon is not a hawk.

American Kestrels are small (Robin or Pigeon size) common and colorful. Their home range is basically the entire North American continent. They eat bugs, songbirds, lizards and rodents. They’re sometimes eaten by larger birds. They generally mate for life and share egg incubation responsibilities between the sexes. They make their homes on ledges, crevices and in human provided nest boxes. They live short lives (5-10 years) but seem to enjoy themselves well enough. They sound like this.

And that’s all for Kestrel Day.