Today I got worried that one chick was not doing well, but my fear was very short lived. And, upon later closer examination of the video, the chick was just fine. And, later videos showed it behaving normally again.
Note how Mom Kestrel’s feathers are getting quite ragged from all the wear and tear inside the nest box! I wonder if she goes through a molt to replace them at the end of the breeding season?
There’s quite a bit of pandemonium during this feeding, and in the end one chick manages to claim and choke down the last bit of prey, of impressive size!
But, the other chicks did not go hungry for long, as there was another prey delivery about 5 minutes later.
Later in the afternoon, the behavior of the lone chick in this video got me worried. But, on closer inspection of the video, one can see that it actually has its own prey item — so that must be why it’s not begging with the others.
By the next feeding, a mere few minutes later, all of the chicks are actively begging as usual.I need to watch more closely at bedtime, to see how the Mother Kestrel gets all those rambunctious chicks to finally settle down!
Benicia Kestrels 
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