windhover heatshimmer
26 Mar 2018
Monday, March 26th, 2018 • Floyd Bennett Field & SMNT, Brooklyn, NY
Kestrel hopping from Floyd Bennett Field to Salt Marsh Nature Trail. Saw that Kenny at Salt Marsh has a girlfriend now - and saw them perform coitus five times.
It wasn’t an incredibly hot day but the sun was shining down hard, creating heat shimmer low to the ground.
conditions
03-26-2018
- ☀️🔆♨️
- 37.0-46.0 degrees F
- 28.5-39.6 degrees F windchill
- 12.8-18.4 mph N/NE winds
- sunny, clear
camera log
- 2183 pictures
- 5 folders
- 89.54 GB
notes in general
- texted Phong about Kenny’s girlfriend. Are you there? followed quickly by I’m driving over. Unfortunately I missed him - a half hour passed and the lady flew off. I think…
windhover heatshimmer
…or some notes and observations on the late morning Kestrel copulations.
- copulation I
- 11:52:38 AM - male mounting observed
- 11:52:40 AM - male dismount observed
- maybe a failed attempt?
- but they sat right next to each other after
- copulation II
- 11:58:04 AM - male mounting observed
- 11:58:06 AM - male dismount observed
- success? hard to tell
- copulation III
- 12:16:40 PM - female observed taking flight from ground, what appeared to be an unsuccessful hunt
- 12:16:43 PM - last observation of female in flight
- 12:16:51 PM - male observed mounted atop perched female. within a 10 second timeframe the female took flight from the ground and perched, while the male also coordinated a flight to mount the female and copulate.
- 12:16:55 PM - copulation appears to end abrubtly, with the male taking quick flight to repostion on a perch in the same tree, and the female flying towards potential ground prey nearby. after the quick hunt, the female takes flight and perches on another set of branches near where the copulation took place.
- Given the duration and positioning, it is tempting to conclude that the copulation was successful. However, the abrupt dismount followed immediately by the female hunting suggests that this may have been an unsolicited encounter. It is possible that the copulation was successful and that the female wanted to take advantage of an immediate opportunity to hunt. Given the timing and frequency of copulations with this pair, it may be safe to suggest that mate assessment - rather than immediate material benefits - sets the overall tone for these behaviors (Villarroel et al 1998)
- copulation IV
- 12:30:15 PM - male observed perched
- 12:30:34 PM - male observed taking wing; likely left perch at 12:30:32 PM
- 12:30:43 PM - male observed in flight, approaching female. female observed in ready position for copulation.
- 12:30:44 PM - male mounting observed
- 12:30:49 PM - male dismount observed
- 12:32:54 PM - male takes wing to hunt potential prey on the ground. This follows approximately 2 minutes of post-coital perching next to the female.
- given the duration and positioning of male and female during coitus, this appeared to be a successful copulation.
- copulation V
- 12:48:12 PM - male mounting observed
- 12:48:16 PM - male dismount observed
- appearing to be the most successful attempt, along with copulation IV
references
1 Villarroel, M. R., D. M. Bird and U. Kuhnlein. 1998. Copulatory behaviour and paternity in the American Kestrel: the adaptive significance of frequent copulations. Anim. Behav. no. 56:289-299.