Elle aurait pu tous les tuer ! - 21/06/2025 - Les faucons crécerelles de Théding

A night full of suspense! Where is the kestrel mother? She’s been leaving the chicks alone more and more often, and this time she made a mistake: leaving them alone until morning… That’s when an unexpected visitor arrives — a barn owl. She could have killed the chicks if she had wanted to. So what was her purpose? Was she looking for food? But the chicks are already far too big to be eaten. Maybe she was searching for leftovers from the parents’ hunts? Looking for a future nesting site? Or simply trying to eliminate potential competition for food? At first, the young kestrels don’t seem to notice her presence. Their night vision is not as good as that of a nocturnal bird. But once the owl starts attacking, everything changes: nervous movements and alarm calls trigger increasingly frequent and violent assaults. Fortunately, none of the chicks were injured. After this incident, we decided to reinstall the safety door, first used in 2023 after the female’s death when the chicks were still very young. This door can be operated from the ground, without disturbing the birds: we close it each evening and open it at dawn, keeping the chicks safe from unwanted nocturnal visitors. Chapters: 00:00: Calm visit 01:23: First small attack 02:16: Second attack 03:03: Third small attack 05:53: Fourth attack 09:00: Violent attack ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Discover the full 2025 season of the kestrel of Théding on this page: https://nidoscope.fr/en/gallery-kestr... Also in spring, follow the common starling family live on our channel or here: https://nidoscope.fr/en/nest-kestrel/