The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

In 2002, Imants Jakovļevs discovered common kestrels nesting in an old raven’s nest on a high-voltage line support while compiling data for the second atlas of Latvian nesting birds. Nesting in high-voltage line structures near Skrīveri, Aizkraukle, and Lielvārde was observed in subsequent years. After a 2014 article by Aigars Kalvāns in the Latvian Ornithology Society magazine Birds in Nature (https://putnidaba.lob.lv/wp-content/u…), where the nesting of common kestrels in cages near Liepāja was described, Imants Jakovļevs initiated the installation of common kestrels nesting boxes in Skrīveri Parish. By 2018, 10 boxes had been installed, and by 2020, the first box was occupied, resulting in six common kestrel chicks fledging that season.

Currently, there are 20 common kestrel nesting boxes installed across Krape, Lielvārde, Lēdmane, and Jumprava parishes in Ogre County, as well as Aizkraukle and Skrīveri parishes in Aizkraukle County. In 2023, common kestrel successfully nested in eight of these boxes. Occasionally, tawny owls and long-eared owls also use these boxes. The current observed box, located in Krape Parish of Ogre County, was installed in January 2021. Initially, it remained vacant for the first two years. However, in 2023, a pair of falcons successfully nested in this box, hatching five chicks. The box is situated in an aspen tree, approximately eight meters above the ground.

The common kestrel, a near-migrant species, winters in Western Europe and returns to Latvia by late March. The nesting period typically sees 3-8 eggs, which are incubated for 28 days. Egg laying usually happens between late April and late May. The chicks are ringed between June 20 and July 20. Their diet consists of small rodents (like mice and voles), lizards, large insects (such as beetles and dragonflies), and other small animals.

The camera system monitoring for this nest was created and installed by Jānis Rudzītis, Imants Jakovļevs, and Jānis Ķuze.