Kestrels Count Down The Days Until Fledging

All five American Kestrel chicks are growing by leaps and bounds in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Now that the chicks are between 24 and 22 days old, they have about one week left before they fledge over the rolling grasslands that surround the nest box. Don’t blink or you’ll miss them! Watch live.

Pinpointing Plumage: Now that the chicks’ juvenile feathers have surfaced, we can begin to tell what sex they are. This season, the brood consists of one female and four males! How can we tell them apart? The quickest way is to look at their wings. The four males have slate-blue wings, and the female’s wings are reddish brown.

Make sure to follow daily updates on the kestrels on Twitter/X @WI_Kestrels.