Birds of a feather
Nu-Sun Cinema helps with kestrel banding.
A local wildlife and nature filming company continues to help provide scientists with data on the lives of American kestrel falcons.
Nu-Sun Cinema, a local non-profit production company, has been documenting wildlife for nearly 20 years. Since then, the passion project, which was founded by partners Rick and Kim, has provided data to the American Kestrel Partnership and Boise State University in Idaho. During spring, Nu-Sun has taken part in the North American Bird Banding Program, a joint program between Canada and the United States.
The American kestrel is the smallest falcon breed in North America. On June 11, Dr. James Duncan, a licensed bander with Discover Owls, and apprentice Meredith Stoesz, visited Nu-Sun Cinema’s kestrel boxes, on property just north of Kilcona Park, to band five young kestrel nestlings. Banding nestlings between 15 and 20 days old is key, as disturbances beyond this age may cause premature fledgling.
“It turned out to be a great day, the weather co-operated,” Kim said. “It wasn’t super hot in the morning. Nestlings are under some stress, of course, from being removed from their environment. It turned out to be a great experience.”
Each of the five kestrel nestlings - three female, two male - were placed in a six-compartment, custom-built banding box to ensure they remained calm. Each had a small metal band with a unique nine-digit number attached to its legs. During the process, Duncan and Stoesz also recorded information on each bird, such as various attributes or markings. The information gathered over the course of the birds’ lifetime will help scientists understand the lives of kestrels.
“That, in turn, can help with making informed decisions on how to protect these birds and their habitat,” Kim said. “The kestrels are still a bird being watched, because of its declining population. We really appreciate when people are interested and want to learn about these feisty little falcons.”
Nu-Sun Cinema runs a three-camera HD livestream “kestrel-cam” during the months the birds call Manitoba home, which has proven popular among birders across North America.
“It’s been educational and lots of fun for people to see,” Kim said..
American Kestrel Banding Box, designed by Nu-Sun Cinema.
To view Nu-Sun Cinema’s kestrel-cam and learn more about the American kestrel, visit www.nu-sun.com/html/kestrel_korner.html
All photos supplied by Nu-Sun Cinema