Unfortunately, a thieving magpie seized the opportunity and stole the egg from the unguarded nest. See the video.

Today was finally the day! Our female kestrel has laid her first egg. We are looking forward to an exciting breeding season.

Recently, it looked as if our kestrels had left the nesting box to the pigeons without a fight. But the kestrels don't seem to give up that easily. In the video, we see how the female kestrel surprises the pigeon in a moment of carelessness, attacks it and recaptures the territory. She sits proudly in front of the nesting box after her accomplishment. We can only hope that the male will return soon and that there will be offspring after all.

In kestrels, the invitation to mate usually comes from the female. She settles down near the male and lures him to her with so-called begging calls. Take a look at a mating attempt of our kestrels in the video here. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it worked this time. 

Good to know: The male can be recognized by its light grey head and tail feathers. The female is uniformly reddish-brown in color and has cross-banding on her tail.

Our kestrels are showing themselves at the nesting box for the first time this year. We are very happy that they are back and hope for many kestrel chicks. In the video you can see the female's first mating attempt, which was unsuccessful.