We Rescued Two Baby Kestrels

by Sally

Finding baby birds is very common at our house. Sometimes the birds are very young, others are fledglings.

Fledgling Kestrels are very fearless, so they are easy to catch and return to their nests unless their feathers are mature and they can fly away.

One day, my husband kept hearing a bird and told my daughter it was in our window well.




She climbed down and found it. The bird was very cold and dehydrated.

It was about the size and color of a small white baby chicken, so we brought it into the house and gave it some water and some watered-down chicken food.

The bird opened its beak hungrily, but when I put the food on its tongue, it just kept its mouth open and wouldn't swallow.

Next, we tried some raw hamburger, which it took gladly, and begged for more.

Fearing the hamburger was too fatty, I went to the freezer, found a small piece of liver, and warmed it in warm water to make it easier to digest.

The bird gobbled it down. Knowing baby kestrels need warmth, we turned on a brooding light similar to what we use for baby chickens to keep it warm and went to bed.

The next morning, the bird was still alive but seemed even more dehydrated.

Its eyes were dull, and it was lethargic.

Noting the long wings and hooked bill, I did an internet search and decided that we had either a baby owl or a kestrel.



Since both kestrels and owls eat insects and small rodents, I decided to get proper food and bought a frozen rat from the pet store.

My daughter climbed a ladder above the window well searching for the nest.

As she was coming down, she saw another bird in the window well.

It was the same kind. It was neither cold nor dehydrated.

It was good to have it to compare. It weighed 2 oz, and the first bird was only about 1.2 oz.

Realizing the first kestrel was too weak for solid food, I focused on rehabbing it.

It needed fluids, so I fed it liver soaked in diluted Gatorade with a little salt substitute added for potassium.

I also kept the light off except to warm the birds right after feeding.

I put a heating pad under the box instead and covered the box with a towel.

By the next day, I could tell that the first bird was getting better.

But the second bird was crawling around like a bat, on all fours and dragging its right leg.

I felt it all over and could not find any breaks or swelling, so I moved the leg into a natural position and set the bird in a frosting bowl to hold the leg in place.

Between feedings, I observed the birds closely, mimicking kestrel parent behaviors with scissors and tweezers to help them feed.



I kept a watch for the real parents and discovered a pair of adult kestrels watching my house from the tops of telephone poles.

My husband climbed up two more times searching for the nest.

I finally had to sit out in the car for two hours, with the mirrors adjusted so I could see the telephone poles behind me.

At last, my efforts were rewarded.

I saw a beautiful female kestrel carrying a mouse fly into our roof several logs higher than we had searched.

Then she flew out two logs lower. I decided the nest must be between the two openings.

I grabbed a black sock that had served as my birds' surrogate mother and put the birds in a basket.

I climbed the 20 feet up to the nest and carefully picked up one bird with the sock over my hand so the bird would not be alarmed or bite me.

I pushed it into the hole backward because I had noticed that baby kestrels naturally lean back when placed in a nest, making it easier to settle them.

After the second bird was in place, we kept everyone out of the front yard for two days.

I listened for the kestrel chicks from my bedroom window, checking the window well frequently to make sure they weren’t displaced again.

Two weeks later, I was in my room listening to the morning feeding ritual when I saw a beautiful, fully feathered male kestrel fall into our rose bush.

I ran out and got the dogs and brought them into the house.

The parent kestrels were screaming warnings, calling to their fledgling as I went back for the dogs' water bowl.

I stood up, and the little male spread his wings and flew to a nearby tree. It was an awesome sight!

From inside the house, we watched as the parents flew to the roof and then to a tree, carrying a mouse to encourage the young kestrels to come out for their first hunting lesson.

By the evening of the next day, all had flown.

I have since learned that I need a permit for rehabbing kestrels, even if they never leave my yard until they are ready to fly.

This was not my first experience with them, nor will it be my last, so I am working on obtaining a raptor rehabilitation permit to ensure that any future rescued kestrels receive proper care.