Doc kestrel visits Wild Birds

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Special thanks to Liz and Tony Cutrone for inviting Doc to stop by and visit Wild Birds Unlimited yesterday. 

As you can see by the above photo, Doc has become quite accustomed to representing kestrels as a wildlife ambassador for the State of Tennessee. So much so that I can nap while he answers questions. 

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon native to the Americas. Weighing only four ounces, they are also the smallest raptor in our part of the world. They are generally found watching over meadows and other grasslands where they eat a wide range of prey animals including grasshoppers. 

Next Question?

Doc is a non-flighted male that was brought into the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital mid-January, 2019. He had a badly broken and infected right wing and sadly, will never fly again. He was treated by Dr. Cheryl Greenacre and it was her good care that brought him to me after he spent time on antibiotics with Lynne McCoy a local wildlife rehabilitator. 

Doc has been a wildlife ambassador for the state and under my care and education permit for almost a year. He makes public appearances to raise awareness of kestrels and their current status in the wild. By some accounts, the kestrel subspecies (Falco sparverius paulus) found in the southeast has suffered a population decline of 83 percent since 1940 and no one is completely sure why.

In Delaware it is on their state's Endangered Species list. In Tennessee, its population decline is of concern. 

Does Doc feel the pressure of representing kestrels everywhere? So far, he hasn't shown it.  

Wild Birds Unlimited is located at 7240 Kingston Pike.

Tony Cutrone at Wild Birds Unlimited

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