American Kestrel

The American Kestrel are pint-sized fierce raptors who grace our telephone poles here in northeast Ohio year round. They are easily mistaken for mourning doves which are roughly the same size and who also enjoy perching on wires high above. 
​As one of the most colorful raptors the males can be identified pretty easily by their slate blue head and wings and rusty-red back and tail. The female has the same reddish coloring but is more subdued. 
Diets consist mainly of insects and other small prey - voles, moles, field mice - found in abundance in open meadows and fields. 
While abundant in our area, Kestrels are declining in parts of their range, you can help them by assembling nest boxes prior to breeding season. 

Migration map courtesy of All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology