Kestrels Apollo & Athena are a formidable force. Together they fight off multiple jackdaw attacks to hold on to their favourite nest site.
Kestrel pair
Kestrels Apollo & Athena are preparing for their fourth breeding season, over the past three years they have raised a total of 12 chicks together in their favourite nest site, Ash Hollow. But nest sites are never reliable and so the pair begin their work to ensure this site is still viable in January. The female, Athena scrapes a shallow depression into the floor to make sure it will hold her eggs safely, then her partner Apollo arrives to also inspect the box, making sure the site is still sound.
Competition
The kestrel pair might be happy to return to this nest for another year, but they aren't the only birds with their eye on it. And when Apollo next lands at the entrance a pair of jackdaws swoop down and one actually drags him from the nest.JackdawsLike birds of prey, these corvids are cavity nesters, seeking hollows in trees or rock crevices, which they fill with twigs to make their home. As the breeding season approaches, pairs scout out many nest sites, all at once. And while they only build one main nest, they often bring sticks into a number of sites to see if they’re suitable.
Colonise nests
But once these nests are filled with sticks, other birds can’t remove them. Sometimes their activity blocks early breeding birds, like this tawny owl. I-built this box for this kestrel pair, in an attempt to boost populations here. Meanwhile the jackdaws have taken over much of the woodland, so while the jackdaws could go elsewhere this could be the kestrel’s only option. I’ve already built four nests here at Ash Wood, and adding more would risk overpopulating the area with birds of prey.
Jackdaws vs birds of prey
Jackdaws are known to damage crops and livestock, but their effect on birds of prey is less well recorded. Over the years I’ve put up more than 200 nest boxes around Yorkshire and find jackdaws consistently cause issues. Since 1970, the jackdaw population has more than doubled, with 1.6 million breeding pairs of across the UK. Meanwhile, kestrel populations have declined from around 100,000 breeding pairs to just 30,000 today. Jackdaws are highly sociable and often form groups that roost and feed together over a large territory. When it comes to fighting for sites, these groups will work together.
Kestrels teamwork
But although this kestrel pair also apply teamwork, there are only two of them. As Athena tries to evict one jackdaw, another attacks the kestrel from behind. The jackdaws are persistent and the battles continue right through the breeding season. But the kestrels still have their hearts set on this nest and, despite the constant fights, their courtship continues.
Kestrel courtship
Food passes are an important next stage, signalling that the male can provide for the female and their future chicks. Apollo & Athena have been together for over three years now, but no stage of courtship can be skipped - and the pair have the added pressure of having to perform under the mocking audience of jackdaws.
Brutal bird battles
By May, these bird battles intensify and the kestrels are only just holding their own. Jackdaws are much bigger than kestrels and twice jackdaws pin Athena or Apollo to the nest floor in increasingly vicious fights. Then the day before Athena is due to lay her first egg, a jackdaw enters her nest and she, with the support of Apollo, gives the fight of her life.
Athena's first egg
The next morning, with visibly shaken and showing battle scars, Athena lay's her first egg. And even then she must fight off a jackdaw intruder.
