Kestrel chicks have hatched

admin
, 29 May 2018
Kestrel chicks have hatched

By Michael Blencowe

Senior People and Wildlife Officer

Watch KESTRELCAM Live

The kestrel eggs hatched on 23rd May. We can’t see the chicks (they’re tucked in below the camera) but you can hear their cheeping! There were a few broken egg shells in the nest but the female has either disposed of (or maybe even eaten) these. For the next few weeks the female will stay with the chicks – and will still be brooding them. The male will be doing all the hunting. He wont be coming in to the nest yet – he’ll catch the food, call as he approached and then the female will leave the nest, pick it and return. Food can be stored by the entrance but will be discarded if its been there too long.

Things should start getting mighty crowded in the nest very soon. At birth the chicks will weigh just 14-18g but this weight will double in just two days. By the end of the first week some of them could weigh over 100g. This incredible weight gain is typical for birds of prey. Meanwhile the female kestrel has started to lose weight. Almost every last bit of mouse, vole and bird being delivered to her by the male is fed to the chicks. This does mean that when she joins in the hunting in about 10 days she'll be a bit more streamlined.

KestrelCam is part of Sussex Wildlife Trust’s celebration of 50 years at Woods Mill. Thanks to generous support from ScottishPower Foundation.


Leave a comment

Comments

  • ED EDWARDS:

    so moving nature

    31 May 2018 19:55:19

  • Sharon Ottley:

    Isn’t nature wonderful. Just magical. A privilege to have a close up look at these fantastic birds.

    01 Jun 2018 17:59:12

  • Clare fergusson otoole:

    Any talks planned at woods mill re the kestrals/birds of prey

    03 Jun 2018 18:16:33

  • Elizabeth Hindson:

    Absolutely wonderful to see these beautiful birds of prey. Thank you ScottishPower.

    20 Jun 2018 05:44:06

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783361355.76870 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783361355.79690.0282Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783361355.79710.0001Server address: 216.73.216.170
1783361355.79710Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783361355.79710Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/kestrel-chicks-have-hatched
    [s] => kestrel-chicks-have-hatched
    [1] => kestrel-chicks-have-hatched
)
1783361355.79750.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.79850.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783361355.80040.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783361355.80110.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783361355.8030.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22699187
1783361355.80360.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22699187
1783361355.80410.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-06 18:09:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-06 18:09:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783361355.80550.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='kestrel-chicks-have-hatched')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 18:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783361355.80840.0029 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783361355.8090.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1543 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 18:09:00'
1783361355.80990.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783361355.81060.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783361355.81130.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=33 LIMIT 1
1783361355.81180.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=79 LIMIT 1
1783361355.81230.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=190 LIMIT 1
1783361355.81310.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783361355.81330.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783361355.81430.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 18:09:00' AND postSlug='kestrel-chicks-have-hatched'
1783361355.83570.0215Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783361355.83640.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783361355.8380.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783361355.83820.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783361355.83910.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783361355.84030.0012 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783361355.84320.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.84380.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783361355.84610.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783361355.84610 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.84680.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.84740.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.85010.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.85120.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.85190.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783361355.85370.0018 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.85470.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783361355.85680.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783361355.85740.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783361355.85780.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783361355.85860.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783361355.8590.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='kestrel-chicks-have-hatched')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 18:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783361355.86090.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783361355.86140.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783361355.8650.0036Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783361355.8660.001 [4] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1543 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783361355.91720.0511 [4] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783361355.91840.0013Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783361355.91860.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783361355.91960.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783361355.92040.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783361355.9210.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783361355.92340.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.9240.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783361355.92590.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783361355.92680.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783361355.92750.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783361355.9280.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783361355.93030.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.9310.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783361355.93310.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783361355.93690.0038 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783361355.94310.0062 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783361355.94390.0008 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783361355.94630.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.94680.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783361355.94890.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783361355.95140.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783361355.95210.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783361355.95280.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783361355.95490.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783361355.95540.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783361355.95720.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783361355.95860.0013Request time: 0.192
1783361355.95860Process time: 0.1918
1783361355.95860Memory: 1.6218