Kestrel touch and go

Manni, the injured kestrel, had us in suspense most of yesterday.  In spite of us tempting him with mice and chicks, he refused to eat.   Getting used to his new surroundings was part of the problem, birds are very sensitive and he was obviously stressed.   He was warm and quiet but the chopped up meat stayed untouched.   Hand feeding was not something this little hawk would contemplate and we didn’t want to upset him.  If kbirds don’t feed they soon die.  We tried again with parts of a chick cut up into really tiny pieces.   That did the trick, he must be a dainty feeder and he ate it all up.   He looks much better this morning and has tucked into another chick cut up into little morsels.  It’s puzzling because he won’t have seen chicks before and mice, which are his natural prey, he doesn’t seem to like.  Depends on what his mother fed him I suppose.

While we were getting his food ready this morning, one of the sanctuary cats, an elderly resident called Bing, sneaked in, snaffled a mouse and ran off with it!   She obviously knows all about natural food!   Catch them for yourself next time please Bing!