Web cam footage from the new nesting box for kestrels
Love gift for the female kestrel
Well done!
Since the end of February, a nesting box for kestrels has been installed on the chimney of the Dean's building at the School of Veterinary Medicine. A web cam transmits images that have already turned some people into true kestrel fans: https://horst.vetmed.fu-berlin.de
News from Apr 11, 2024
Since their arrival in March, it has been possible to observe, among other things, how the male kestrel presents the female with a so-called "bridal gift" in the form of a mouse. The first egg was laid just in time for Easter. There are now six eggs, which are incubated as a team. It can take around 29 days for the chicks to hatch.
The initiative to install the nesting box came from five members of various FU university initiatives who successfully applied for a "FUturist" project from the Sustainability & Energy Unit in 2023.
It is a successful cooperation project between the FUturist team, the Technical Department, ZEDAT, CeDiS, NABU, two external companies and our department, represented by PD Dr. Kerstin Borchers.
The wooden nesting box was made in the workshops for people with disabilities of the Stephanus Foundation. Thank you!
The monitoring by video camera is not only a great pleasure for many people, but is particularly interesting for behavioral observations as part of veterinary training and for observing the breeding behavior and health status of kestrels. The bird specialists at the Small Animal Clinic and our students are particularly interested in the data.