American Kestrels and Some Rainfall

We got 0.5-inches of rain last night. But, more exciting than that was watching the wide variety of birds out and about this morning.

I spotted two American Kestrels! (Females, I think.) They perched themselves on the utility line between the front and back pastures for quite some time. I am nearly 100% certain they were American Kestrels because of the two very distinct vertical stripes on the sides of their faces and the spots along their sides. I wasn't able to get a very good photo but I did get a good close look at them through the binoculars for several minutes.

The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), sometimes known as the Sparrow Hawk, is the most common and smallest falcon in North America. It is about the size of an American Robin.

In summer American Kestrels hunt early in the morning an evening, eating mostly insects such as grasshoppers and dragonflies. During winter months, they hunt throughout daylight hours and eat small mammals (including bats and rodents), reptiles, amphibians, and birds.

In Texas, American Kestrels are present year round with breeding and wintering ranges completely overlapping. In winter, females prefer more open habitat. Because females migrate south and establish their winter territories first, males are forced into the less preferred areas where there are more trees.