One or Two American Kestrels

Last November I spotted 2 American Kestrels. Or did I spot 1 American Kestrel twice? It's difficult to say.

Butterflies sometimes have wing damage that can differentiate them. With birds though a damaged wing is more likely to be fatal. Sometimes a bird will have unusual plumage that can be used to differentiate them, but on an overcast day and quite a bit of distance between me and the bird(s) I can't really tell you if these are pictures of the same bird or not.

My impression is that this is a popular area for American Kestrels - I've seen them here before and know that they nest in the area - so seeing multiple kestrels wouldn't be surprising. If they were uncommon I would be more inclined to think they were the same bird.

The sightings were in somewhat different locations since I was walking, so it's not like the birds were in virtually the same spot. The sightings were 17 minutes apart; a kestrel could easily have flown from the 1st spot to the 2nd.

Ultimately I'm leaning towards these being different birds, but it's certainly possible I'm wrong about that.

November 4, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 251084032, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


November 4, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 251084020, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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