Falconry: Introduction to American Kestrels

This falconry video is an introduction to American Kestrels, and their use in modern falconry. Kestrels are North America's smallest falcon, but they have proven themselves as wonderful hunting companions. An increasing number of new falconers are choosing kestrels as their falconry bird of choice. This video will hopefully help falconers in deciding if this is the bird for them.
Thanks everyone for your patience on this video. This is my first video since getting out of the hospital and I am still recovering. I hope there is enough energy in the video to still convey good info. But if it comes across as too lethargic and you feel it should be remade at some point, just let me know in the comments.
*please note! There is a mistake at the 10:19 mark where I say “Eurasian kestrel” but actually meant to say “European starlings”
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[@alanjohnson2662]

When I was 13, a neighbor gave me a male kestrel chick. He had the run of a small empty house (unheated in Oregon). I fed him large grasshoppers and some sparrows (using my BB gun). I trained him to come to me using a police whistle. Gradually I gave him more freedom. In his adult life he freely flew around the neighborhood. I could retrieve him any time with the whistle, even if he was a quarter mile away. I had many wonderful experiences with him. There are many stories I can tell. Gradually, he reverted back to the wild. Finally, he never returned. This was 60 years ago.

[@cosmicvagrant3980]

And when you pass, that bird will guide you home...

[@alanjohnson2662]

@@cosmicvagrant3980 I still love that bird.. BTW, I didn't need to give him treats to keep him flying to me. He always came when I called or blew a whistle. I had him for nearly two years and he gradually reverted back to the wild. I knew it was happening at the time. It was a lesson for me to learn , to let go of those whom you love.

[@4trx3vxn4]

Yup this gave me major goosebumps

[@ktrigg2]

Awesome story.

[@alexomar4959]

What a wonderful opportunity you had to have such a special friend :)

[@oldschoolhawking8191]

One thing I've learned 5 decades ago about keeping kestrels alive and healthy, is their diet. You can feed an eyas kestrel a variety of different foods, (chicken, beef, birds, mice, insects) and they thrive. Trapped kestrels need a consistent natural diet, (small birds, mice, insects) or it could be fatal. Nobody told me this back then and I lost a couple great birds.

[@briscocounty2810]

Beebe and Webster actually noted this.

[@oldschoolhawking8191]

@@briscocounty2810 Yeah, I didn't get their book till 1973. A few older falconers were aware of this after I mentioned it. Every novice falconer needs to be aware also.

[@MegaOzzy28]

I feed mine quails, pigeons and Mice!!!

[@littlewigglemonster7691]

Would crickets and mealworms also be good? I've bred them in the past be fairly good source food

[@N0sh4dows]

I had no idea ! Glad I’m not keeping birds yet lol, what’s a good diet for them ?

[@nightrider5420]

I raised a sparrow hawk as a teen and released it into to wild after teaching it to kill live prey. It was a wonderful bird to raise and it was hard to let it go. A great lesson for a young man.

[@peterknaust7424]

I live on a golf course in the Southern California desert and I see kestrels every day, they are a joy to watch and listen to!

[@logistiekoperator4552]

Gorgeous birds, build for speed with perfect camouflage and matching colours. Natures finest😍 surely masters of the sky.

[@darrion5299]

Hola Ben ! .... yo encontré un cernicalo en mi balcón. Pichon, hermosa ! Lo crié un par de meses y luego lo llevé al bosque y le di su libertad. Lloramos mucho !..... porque lo extrañamos ! God bless you ! .... ❤

[@michaelsullivan2554]

My dad took two out of a nest in Jacksonville Florida. They were in the corner of a building that had a small opening. They were magnificent. I didn't weigh them. I knew they were hungry in the morning gave them a little snack and I would ride through the neighborhood with a stringless kite. They'd fly ahead of me from wire to wire and then when I'd get going out in the wide open they would just fly along overhead and I would whistle them down. I always had a lure but never really needed it. I would visit a pet shop where two women just love my birds. They'd give me mice. I fed mine crickets from a bait store and grasshoppers as we would walk through the fields. Also kidney and liver from the grocery store. They were so healthy. I cast one on a Blue Jay in my backyard one day. It was quite a fight but my bird won.

[@matthewmullenix3120]

Great primer, Ben! Thanks for the kind words too!

[@arcticfoxart6306]

Recently found what i believe to be an american kestrel , you channel is a life saver right now

[@robertdemint5750]

This was a terrable video for me to watch, I have way to many hobbies and now my eyes have just been opened to yet another extremely interesting part of nature

[@mikeferris408]

Wow... this man is exstreamly knowledgeable, a real exspert in this field. This morning on Jack Hannah into the wild i saw for the 1st time a black chested buzzard eagle, which its color is mostly grey.. with a grey chest n white legs n some of its chest feathers are tipped with what looked like very small white dots making such beautiful patters on its chest.. and its eyes were an orangeish" red. 1 of the most beautiful birds ive ever seen n thats whats brought me here. Ive always been fascinated with all birds of prey n ive lived out in the country now for 3 years (25 mns outside my hometown of Champaign ill,) and we have tons n tons of hawks n owls.. even American bald eagles which has landed in our trees on our property... so big! Man they are massive birds! Ive always loved all animals and have rehabilitated baby squirrels, a very large starling.. anyways good to see people like this man here that clearly loves his birds and im sure he's a great loving handler of them. Thank you so much for the info and my introduction to these beautiful birds of prey n i know im in the right place for proper future learning! SUBSCRIBED 👍

[@goolash1000]

I would love to begin falconry with a kestrel. They seem more expressive than other birds, but with several red-tails and a Cooper's hawk hunting my backyard most days, I'm afraid it would be eaten.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Definitely always a risk in coopers country. Ironically my kestrels have never had run ins with coops, but when flying sharp shins (which are faster and more agile than kestrels) my friends and I have had far more run ins with coopers.

[@goolash1000]

@@benwoodrufffalconry I'm not sure if the coopers are here to stay or not. When we first moved out here 11 years ago, we saw a few of what we now recognize as kestrels, then they disappeared and a whole passel of red tails moved in, hunting from the phone poles and nesting in the trees near the phone poles. Then this last winter, a Cooper started hunting our bird feeder. Every morning, I would wake up and it would be looking back at me through the storm door from the porch railing. Now it seems a pair are nesting in the trees along the road as well. With those two species plus the bald eagles along the river occasionally coming around, I imagine competition is getting fierce.

[@cptbfrank]

I have had run ins with coops with all of my Kestrels. Never had one grabbed though despite some very close calls. Generally a kestrel paying attention won't get grabbed. However, you will need an enclosed weathering area. I don't weather any bird in the open regardless of size. Some people will, but never a kestrel. They can handle a coops if they are muscled and most importantly, not tied to a perch. If it's on the perch a kestrel must be secured against predators with fencing/netting.

[@cptbfrank]

I should add, just because a coops never got one of mine doesn't mean it can't and won't happen. If you live in an area like mine though you have to be just as vigilant as the kestrel. And learn to make the kestrel alarm call. More than once I was able to alert my Kestrels about a coops running in on them that they hadn't spotted yet and that gave them the heads up to get moving. This has saved several of my birds. Even when the coops took several swings at him. He had enough warning to get enough speed to dodge. If your kestrel spots the coops first still make the alarm call. He will learn very fast that you also alert to threats this way. Start running right away and alarm calling, then start screaming. If you can startle or distract the coops it will bolt. After that collect your bird and go somewhere else to hunt. The coops won't always go very far and if it's desperate it may try again and ignore you the second time. Again, I have had this happen.

[@johnlefevre839]

​@@cptbfrank leave your dogs out with them when weathering is a good technique

[@PaulVos-qw5kl]

I am trying to get into falcorny and I am allways looking for wild raptors and today I saw my first kestral!!! I thaught it was super cool seeing one in person fly right infront of me and it makes me want to get into falcorny even more than I did before.

[@Henry-hy3bd]

Your videos are amazing and the intro is super good too. I love watching to see if it’s different

[@donnypeay6770]

Live in Tennessee had a nest box which had Screech Owls in winter and Sparrow Hawks in the spring for 9 years.Had 9 baby Sparrow Hawks hatched and reached adult stage. Really cool Birds. Trapped English Sparrows in a live trap. Would throw the Sparrows up towards nest box Male Sparrow Hawk would catch them and take them to the box. I miss my Birds now.

[@Nordisk11]

They're so small I love them 😭

[@rollastoney]

Super cool. Would be cool to own one but as I don’t know anything about falconry, I would never do that to these little guys. Enjoyed the video.

[@coltencarpenter9884]

Love your videos they are always so great!

[@saltystirfry3294]

Thank you so much!! I’ve been wanting this one.❤️❤️❤️

[@Sum_Ting_Wong]

This channel is incredibly informative

[@davidirving2006]

Great video, hope you are feeling better

[@Brad32VlogsOfficial]

enjoyed your video, very informative, thank you for sharing

[@AtlantaFalconry]

I've flown several kestrels over the years, most of the time, I was flying then out of my pocket since they are a pocket falcon.

[@opossumsospreys5251]

Thanks Ben :D

[@TheBuffalo-Bison]

Great video

[@myaominky]

Dude. I just landed on your channel as a birdwatcher in Oregon wanting to know more about the American kestrel. I’m blown away by the depth and breadth of your knowledge, down to the color variations (with pictures). Watched this whole video from beginning to end. I know ZERO about falconry and I still watched. Incredible quality, sir! Subscribed.

[@happybee7725]

Ben you said that in the US american kestrels are used to hunt english sparrows and european kestrels. I assume you meant european starlings not kestrels?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Thanks for the catch. I have updated the description to warn of the mix up.

[@happybee7725]

@@benwoodrufffalconry no problem Ben. i think most people will know what you meant anyway.

[@lohikarhu734]

Need to edit at 10:19, where you said "eurasian kestrel" instead of "Starling"

[@lohikarhu734]

10:10

[@Avestruzjr]

Thank you I was about to inbox him.

[@ap-nu3ck]

Towards the end of the video, is the swivel actually attached to her ring? M.M.'s books are excellent to have to refer to again and again. Excellent video as always!

[@darrion5299]

... from Argentina ( Salta) norte.(Tabacal).

[@kevinhiggins7257]

I'm in Ireland (Europe), yet I couldn't find your book on American kestrels... I did find something more suitable. Hope we all can catch up 😮

[@joelzaborowski9839]

I really like the illustration you showed briefly of kestrels. What book was that from? Or who was the illustrator?

[@troy5292]

I started watching your channel maybe 8-10 months ago. I have a connection to go on hunts and beat the bush, but I know I don't have the time to hunt the bird now, so I'm just watching and learning. I've seen all kinds of raptors on your channel and others, and I have to say that although the American Kestrel is the Pomeranian of the falconry arena, they have and still are the falcon I'd want to have first. They just really pique my interest. You call it the murder butterfly. I also refer to it as the "tiny terror". :0) I also fly the DJI Mini 3 Pro. Not sure if you heard, but some are talking about outlawing DJI drones across the board for fear of China using them for covert surveillance. That was on a recent KZbin update from the Pilot Institute where most people get their part 107 training. Just something to watch for. That would suck as I have the M3P and the original Mavic Pro. 😕 Oddly enough, both are the only DJI drones that can rotate the camera 90 degrees from portrait to landscape without reducing the resolution. I'd not suggest buying a DJI drone right now, but the dual ISO on the M3P makes for some pretty good images, with better depth in the darker darks and lighter lights while reducing noise. The sensors do an amazing job of avoiding obstacles (APAS), so long as there is sufficient lighting to contrast what the sensor sees. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJq5q6ukZrxlh7M

[@harouncoulibaly6222]

Can you do a intro to Eurasian Kestral

[@cosmicvagrant3980]

The Merlin?

[@remyogun8270]

Hey Ben, what about Cooper's Hawks? Don't they also exhibit sexual dimorphic color variations, with the female being a more dull grey-brown, with the males looking more slate blue-grey?

[@logistiekoperator4552]

I wanted to get one to hunt mice around my appartement but they need lots of time and expertise. My air venture avenger will have to do for now.

[@clr977]

Started watching one today, literally all day I’ve been watching it every 20 minutes or so make rounds in my valley, a good quarter mile circumference maybe tree to tree but mainly by my house where’s its feeding in the 20 acre field. I’ve fallen in love with this bird honestly lol. It’s a male VERY vibrant. Never knew about them. What’s strange to me, is for the past several years we have seen a larger bird (I assumed some type of hawk, much more brown) landing on the EXACT same route. I’m wondering if other birds of prey use similar or exactly the same routes as other birds at times, or if this one is an offspring of a female that did not look as vibrant and was much larger? I’m very interested, my wife’s grandfather catches and trains hawks has had several species of owls as well and was gonna ask him if it would be possible to catch and train one from the wild.

[@mikeferris408]

Oooo thats what their doing.. hovering.. ive seen that alot n always wondered what they were looking at.. hovering about 15 feet.. fluttering their wings looking down... their waiting for the prey to come back out i see! I see this mostly in the very early spring time especially along the highway driving home.. ill seen 7 to 10 hawks in a 10 mile radius and on the same side of the highway! Sometimes there will be 2 hawks only about 6 yaerds apart, do they hunt together as a team sometimes or something? Anyways I LEARNED SOMETHING HERE.. THANKS! 👍

[@asteph01]

The person in charge of falconry in Maine does not allow kestral because he feels that if you cannot use them for sport hunting, then he does not view it as a viable bird. So for apprenticeship, he only allows Red Tailed hawks.

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

That’s unfortunate and ridiculous! That sort of thinking has been proven wrong decades ago. Micro hawking is a viable fast growing version of the sport. I hope someday they will let you fly them

[@garyroutley4207]

Would that toe trapping cage trap birds other than kestrel birds?

[@gobofraggel7383]

I live in Brooklyn NY near a major intersection with lots of noise and traffic and feed Sparrows on my balcony daily for the past 5 years. I have never seen a Kestrel except online. Yesterday I heard a scream on my balcony and ran out to see a beautiful Kestrel with brilliant colors and a Sparrow under his talon looking up at the Kestrel in terror. I expected the Kestrel to fly away but he looked at me and took his first bite which was only feathers. I know the Kestrel must eat but these Sparrows are my babies and I have two living with me for 10 years now. I stomped and shouted and both the Kestrel and Sparrow flew away. The Kestrel stayed on a nearby branch looking at me for about 5 minutes before flying off. What a beautiful creature.

[@DiegoRamirez-yb5pz]

Roadside video soon ????

[@stxrii8293]

I’m considering getting a falconry license and getting an American Kestrel as well as keeping it in my house, but I’m terrified it might eat my parrots. Any ideas? Outdoor aviary?

[@stxrii8293]

Also tons of red-tails in my area so the kestrel might get eaten. I live in a woodland area.

[@michaelphillips7207]

How do you go about training a bird like that?

[@vinceperry7133]

Hey there ! Also in utah, I'd like to get into falconry. I have no idea where to start. I know I need to find someone to apprentice under. But where does one find a master ? Haha

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Try reaching out to the Utah Falconers Association. They should have an apprentice coordinator to help you find a sponsor

[@vinceperry7133]

@@benwoodrufffalconry see thank you, I didnt even know that was a thing. I was just going to go volunteer at the tracy aviary and hope to meet someone.

[@kristensorensen2219]

#223👍🤔💖thanks!

[@joeinostroza3562]

What is the best way to contact you?

[@mtoska593]

How do I get one

[@barybarsboldia197]

Is it legal to catch and release kestrels for fun?😅

[@SlimWu]

Is it possible to keep American Kestrel in house?

[@benwoodrufffalconry]

Absolutely. That is the only way I keep them, is in The house. It makes weight management so much easier and helps keep them far more social.

[@SlimWu]

@@benwoodrufffalconry Interesting! Do you use some kind of a huge parrot cage for them or self-made aviary? I'd love to see this kind of a set up.

[@rschultz9492]

RAD

[@mattwilson9585]

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[@peregrinesmith1117]

Beginners should not start with a kestrel.

[@FearEeatsTheSoul]

I’m from Northern Arizona. This is one of my Favorite little Birds. They are amazing. I wouldn’t call the Kestrel coloration, “RED” & Black. … Here we say “Copper” & Black

[@jacygreen9520]

Kestels have high indoreance and stamina.too short.mystical you can train a kestel to hunt a squirrel the squirrel can't find anything to bite and they bite there spine they are strong enough to snap a spine on a squirl and do have the confdeance to do that.

[@jacygreen9520]

I have a kestrel but the Earth's my mews not all the branches and stuff and is excesslent female Harris force keeps us apart and male kestrels but one day we will be togeather again.