{"id":31207,"date":"2015-10-28T06:33:04","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T12:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=31207"},"modified":"2025-04-03T12:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T17:36:34","slug":"male-american-kestrel-taking-off-from-a-nest-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/28\/male-american-kestrel-taking-off-from-a-nest-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Male American Kestrel Taking Off From A Nest Box"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale American Kestrel taking off from a nest box _ Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed this male American Kestrel a few days ago at Farmington Bay WMA as it flew out of a nest box. It seemed strange to see the kestrel checking out the nest box at this time of the year but they do check into them to see if any nest maintenance needs to be done. Or perhaps it is because the weather has been so odd.<\/p>\n

A little information about nest selection process for American Kestrels from allaboutbirds.org<\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

American Kestrels nest in cavities, although they lack the ability to excavate their own. They rely on old woodpecker holes, natural tree hollows, rock crevices, and nooks in buildings and other human-built structures. The male searches for possible nest cavities. When he\u2019s found suitable candidates, he shows them to the female, who makes the final choice. Typically, nest sites are in trees along wood edges or in the middle of open ground. American Kestrels take readily to nest boxes.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed this male American Kestrel a few days ago at Farmington Bay WMA as it flew out of a nest box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[152,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,155,970,2663,4199,4078,4279,4620,6276,4892,4062,4094,2279,4063,4018,4095],"class_list":["post-31207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrel","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-kestrel","tag-autumn","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-fall","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-nest-box","tag-raptor","tag-sky","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/american-kestrel-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-6511.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-87l","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35091,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/01\/24\/male-american-kestrels-on-nest-boxes\/","url_meta":{"origin":31207,"position":0},"title":"Male American Kestrels on Nest Boxes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Male American Kestrels look for and locate potential nesting cavities within their territories and inspect them prior to the nesting season.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Kestrel on a frosty nest box at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-3445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-3445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-3445.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-3445.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108991,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/25\/christmas-day-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":31207,"position":1},"title":"Christmas Day American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be at all.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas Day American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was thrilled to have this female American Kestrel in my neighborhood and viewfinder after an overnight snow fell two days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female American Kestrel on a snowy light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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