The Mega That Did Not Make It

A pair of American Kestrels @ Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

American Kestrels Falco sparverius are handsome birds; some may even venture as far as to say they are cute birds.  It is a bird I first saw while vacationing on the island of St. Martins a few years ago but on that occasion I only got a quick glance.  The opportunity presented itself again this year in February. While on vacation in Puerto Rico, I saw plenty of these birds and was able to observe them under varying conditions.  My only question when leaving PR was when will I see this petit raptor, considered to be among the smallest raptors in the world, in my home land? I did not have to wait too long for the answer but it was not as expected.

Cell phone image of the dead Kestrel

At just a few minutes from midday on August 13^th, Dr. John Webster, a local birder, shared a number of cell phone photographs of a dead bird that was involved in an accident.  Our local birding expert quickly identified the bird as an American Kestrel Falco sparverius.  Efforts were made to recover the remains to verify the sub-species but it had already been disposed of.  American Kestrels are 9-12” (23-30cm) in length, with a wingspan of 20-24” (51-61 cm).  It feeds on large insects, small reptiles, mammals and other birds.  Plumage colourization varies across sub-species of which they are many.

History in Barbados

Although Kestrels are considered common on the island of St. Lucia, which is just over 100 miles SW of Barbados, it is very rare here (Birds of the West Indies …H. Raffaele et al).  As a matter of fact only twice has this bird been recorded on the island, first at Chancery Lane on October 25, 1964 by Maurice & Hazel Hutt and a pair recorded at Westbury Cemetery in April 1994 and turned over to Dr. Karl Watson (Birds of Barbados … P.A. Buckley, E.B. Massiah et al ).  Here is his account of the find as told by him:
“I was contacted by individuals who said that they had seen a pair of small hawk like birds in Westbury cemetery that looked as if they were trying to nest.  These individuals trap birds. In catching these two birds, one was killed. The other, they told me, they had caged and asked if I would come and look at it.  I went down....the area off President Kennedy Drive..... and examined the bird which they had forced into a cage used for grass canaries (Grassland Yellowfinches).  It was an American Kestrel, a bird I knew well from Jamaica, Haiti and Antigua.  I offered them $100 for the cage and bird which they accepted.  I called Michael Shemilt at Oughterson to ask him if I could take the kestrel to Oughterson. He agreed and on arrival, I transferred the bird to a much larger cage where it was kept for some time before being released.” 

If you ever meet Dr. Watson face to face, ask him about the hair-raising parts of this rescue.

I will be on the lookout now for the fourth record of this beautiful raptor.  Let us hope it does not take another 24 years to reappear.