Had to look up the Kestrel, never heard of them. Very pretty and small. Will be quite a difference from your bigger ones.
Do you think it's safe to assume that all birds, song birds, the ones many see at their bird feeders are as unhealthy and short lived as the Raptors or is it due more to what the Raptors diet is that makes them filled with parasite and disease? If diet of the Raptors seems to be the bigger cause, then is it likely their food sources also perishing at very young age or that the birds are just more susceptible?
When I was a kind in Michigan, we never seen hawks, falcons, eagles, egrets, etc. even many song birds. The DDT they sprayed for mosquitoes killed them. It's been many years since they stopped using the DDT but its taken years for the wildlife to return and flourish. It's been about 20 or so years now that we have been able to see more and more of them. It's a norm now to see them every day but still so exciting.
It is very sad they are so short lived.
Do you think it's safe to assume that all birds, song birds, the ones many see at their bird feeders are as unhealthy and short lived as the Raptors or is it due more to what the Raptors diet is that makes them filled with parasite and disease? If diet of the Raptors seems to be the bigger cause, then is it likely their food sources also perishing at very young age or that the birds are just more susceptible?
When I was a kind in Michigan, we never seen hawks, falcons, eagles, egrets, etc. even many song birds. The DDT they sprayed for mosquitoes killed them. It's been many years since they stopped using the DDT but its taken years for the wildlife to return and flourish. It's been about 20 or so years now that we have been able to see more and more of them. It's a norm now to see them every day but still so exciting.
It is very sad they are so short lived.