Draper Museum Raptor Experience
Freyja: American kestrel
About the Bird:
Freyja is a female American Kestrel who hatched in 2020. She was cared for in Helper, Utah, after being found at a construction site with a broken left wing. The injury healed but her flight is unstable.
General Species Info:
American Kestrels are found throughout most of North, Central, and South America.
American Kestrels favor open areas with short ground vegetation and sparse trees. You’ll find them in meadows, grasslands, deserts, parks, farm fields, cities, and suburbs. When breeding, kestrels need access to at least a few trees or structures that provide appropriate nesting cavities. American Kestrels are attracted to many habitats modified by humans, including pastures and parkland, and are often found near areas of human activity including towns and cities.
American Kestrels eat mostly insects, as well as small rodents and birds. Common foods include grasshoppers, cicadas, beetles, and dragonflies; scorpions and spiders; butterflies and moths; voles, mice, shrews, bats, and small songbirds. American Kestrels also sometimes eat small snakes, lizards, and frogs.
Notes from Staff:
Freyja is a sassy little kestrel. She often yells at people and tells them what she thinks. Volunteers and staff have found that she is much smarter than they at first suspect. She trains them faster than they can train her.
