Kestrels at Aston University.

Aston University in Birmingham, UK, recently set up a camera streaming live from a kestrel nest in one of their buildings.

Unfortunately, the nest shown on the video is not real, and is merely a digital manipulation controlled by the university's receptionists. The image of the nest itself is a picture of some Cadbury Mini Eggs from a Google image search, whilst the kestrels were created using Microsoft Paint and a freeware animation hack for that programme.

There is a real nest on the campus, but efforts at placing a camera there were in vain as the kestrels attacked the technicians attempting to set it up.

Former Melbourne Kestrel, Shae Bolton.

The picture below is of a lady called Shae Bolton. She used to play for a netball team in Australia called the Melbourne Kestrels. The Melbourne Kestrels have ceased to exist since 2008 following a merge with Melbourne Phoenix. Bolton and some other Kestrels and Phoenix players joined together to form Melbourne Vixens.

The influence of kestrels on the work of Sophocles.

Kestrels were somewhat of an influence on the work of the great Greek tragedian, Sophocles, predominantly in his Theban plays.

The Theban plays deal with the story of Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, and the circumstances and consequences of those events.

On hearing of the breeding habits of kestrels, where newborn hatchlings may be eaten by their mothers if they are deemed too weak, Sophocles was truly horrified. The Theban plays were his reaction to this information, by telling a story where the mannerisms of kestrels were reversed in the most extreme way.

The Sweaty Kestrel.

The Sweaty Kestrel is the name of a popular cocktail, comprising 50% Buckfast and 50% Lilt. But where did this drink get its name?

The story is set sometime between 1982 and 1984 in a backstreet bar in Liverpool's dockland area called Maguire's, where a young barman called Brian Ainsworth was desperately trying to invent a cocktail. Brian wanted to prove his worth as a barman by creating something that would bring people from all over Liverpool to Maguire's so his boss, James Maguire, would never be able to let him go.

One night during a quiet shift, Brian was experimenting with all sorts of concoctions behind the bar. On eventually tasting a combination of Buckfast and Lilt, he knew he was on to something. An old Scottish sailor had been sitting at the bar all evening. Brian offered the old sailor a sip of his new drink, to which the sailor replied "Ah dinnae ken wha' tae say, o'er than that tastes o' the sweet swea' o' the kes'rel, ye ken". The sailor then got up, left the bar, and was never seen again. Brian and the other customers in Maguire's were confused by the sailor's remarks, but Brian knew the Sweaty Kestrel had just been named.

Maguire's began to market Sweaty Kestrel relatively succesfully, and it became hugely popular throughout Liverpool until the late eighties. Brian went on to become manager, and eventually owner of the bar, until his death in 1994 when his home was burned down whilst he was asleep.

The Sweaty Kestrel also was popular in the town of Skagen in Denmark, the city of Kristiansand in Southern Norway, and Gothenburg in Sweden, and it is believed that these are places the Scottish sailor later visited.

What happens to dead kestrels?

The remains of deceased kestrels have two main uses. Kestrel feathers are molten and used to create artificial plants. Kestrel bones are ground down to a fine powder and used in stock in select exclusive restaurants, particularly for dishes based around game birds.

Harry Potter and the Kestrel.

In J.K. Rowling's initial drafts of what would become Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hedwig was a kestrel. Rowling was inspired to use a kestrel after one of her children was working on a school project about the birds, and was intrigued by the absence of kestrels in children's literature.

Rowling was forced to change Hedwig to an owl by her publishers, who felt the kestrel was not a well enough known bird amongst the first book's target market.

Kestrels in popular music.

Here are some examples of kestrels in popular music:

- A super alternative band who bridge the gap between Ace Bushy Striptease and The Pixies, even though they're from Canada: Kestrels
- Druggy noises from the United Kingdom: dead kestrel
- Badly recorded "progressive" rock from Chicago: Kestrel
- Badly recorded druggy noises from Australia: Us The Kestrels
- Experimental, oh OK, druggy noises, from New Zealand. His third album is called An Angel Fell Where The Kestrels Hover: Peter Wright
- OK grungey rock from the United Kingdom. They have a playlist on their myspace called You Are The Kestrels, We Are The Knaves: Streamline Soldiers

The study of kestrels.

The study of kestrels is called kestrology. It is a sub-branch of ornithology, which is the study of birds.

Kestrology is a highly specialised field of study, with only about seven professors in the subject area worldwide, and a further eighteen or so people dedicated to full-time study and research. The University of Minnesota in the United States is generally regarded as being at the forefront of kestrology research, largely due to the work of Professor Edgar Simmons. Professor Simmons has been developing the Kestrology Research Centre at the University of Minnesota since 2001, with the aim of continuing and expanding research directly related to kestrel behaviour, and currently runs an MSc in Kestrology. It is hoped this will lead to an increased interest in kestrology, and eventually lead to more work in the field outside of the United States.

Other instituitons which have dedicated kestrology research units include Uppsala University in Sweden, the Lomonoslov Moscow State University in Russia, the Bombay Natural History Society in India, and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.

Carlos and the kestrel.

In 1955, a fifteen year old boy called Carlos was taking part in the All Valley Karate Tournament in Los Angeles. After winning his first two fights, young Carlos went outside for a breath of fresh air, where some of his sweat dripped on the ground making a small puddle. Shortly afterwards, a thirsty kestrel came along and pecked at the puddle of sweat to quench his thirst. The kestrel died immediately after.

Young Carlos won the All Valley Karate Tournament, and went on to have a succesful acting and martial arts career, where he became better known by the name Chuck Norris.

How many fruit pastilles does it take to choke a kestrel?

None because they just hawk it up.

Why did the kestrel cross the road?

It is a common misconception that the kestrel crossed the road. One day, the kestrel was stood at the side of the road, and was looking both ways quite nervously as he prepared to cross. The chicken came along and said "I wouldn't do that if I was you mate, you'll never hear the end of it". The kestrel took the chicken's advice and did not cross the road.

Can kestrels carry coconuts?

Kestrels can indeed carry coconuts, but prefer not to. This stems from kestrels in the Carribean being shot down by locals. The locals were unable to climb the trees to get the coconuts themselves, and so waited for the kestrels to get them, when they would shoot them down and take the coconuts. On some of the Carribean islands the kestrel was also eaten. As a result of this practice, kestrels stopped going near coconuts, and it is believed to be one of the major contributing factors of the decline in kestrels.

Kestrels amongst the Native Americans.

Some Native American tribes see the kestrel as a sacred bird because they eat mosquitos, so anywhere they saw kestrels was deemed a more comfortable area for them to set up camp.

Kestrels in Ireland.

In Ireland kestrels are seen as a sign of bad luck. This is because during The Great Famine, which lasted from 1845 until 1852, kestrels used to pick at and feed from the bodies of those that had died of starvation.