This is Hendrix, the male American kestrel we keep at the Black Hills Raptor Center. (Actually, he stays in my second bedroom.) My morning starts with weighing him, taking off his jesses and leash, and parking him on the pink rock he loves atop the shelving unit in the kitchen. I pull a frozen mouse from the freezer and drop it in a cup of hot water to thaw while I make coffee.
When the coffee is done, I weigh out his portion of mouse for the morning based on his overnight weight. This morning he was up to 105 grams (3.7 ounces), a little heavier than normal. But he was very keen for breakfast and was whining and crying to me to hurry things up.
I put a tiny sliver of mouse between the fingers of my glove and held it up. Hendrix immediately flew into action. Literally. He flew across the room to land on the glove. Once he had eaten the tidbit, he turned and flew back to his rock. We repeated this for 17 quick flights.
Once he is fed, I let the dog back in the house where she can be scolded by the angry little falcon while I rustle breakfast for me. This morning I was finishing up dishes when I saw him sitting on his rock all poofed up. He apparently was very content and pleased with life in general. Kestrels will fluff like this when all is well in their little worlds. I snatched the camera up and for once he held his pose. You can just barely see the steel blue-grey wing on the left side of the frame - hallmark of the males in this species. The females have rusty brown wings (they are also larger, faster, and often better hunters).
Just thought I'd share the shot with you.
