Love at first sight! Isn’t the wing patterning of this Mourning Dove-sized falcon exquisite? Don’t let the small stature of America’s littlest falcon fool; the American Kestrel is also one of the most fiercest of hunters.

Now is a great time of year to see pairs before trees leaf out and as they are setting up house. You can find American Kestrels in farm fields, meadows, grasslands, parks, and even cities. Their diet consists largely of insects, small rodents, bats, and small songbirds. I have read they will go after a Northern Flicker but recently I watched a Northern Flicker chase away a Kestrel, as well as a Red-winged Blackbird give chase.

Male (left) and female Kestrels

Red-winged Blackbird chasing American Kestrel

American Kestrel range map