The GB Heron is a very unique, interesting, and cool looking bird that deserves a spot in the final, but I will knock off points for some of its more "jerkish" behaviors. They can be super aggressive when compared to other bird species as it relates to their territory and, even more troubling, I've watched (on multiple instances) them bully ducks in order to snatch their ducklings for a quick meal. I understand "nature is violence" and all that, but a bird that is primarily known for its fishing acumen resorting to unprovoked bird-on-bird violence is a big negative for me here.
All that being said, my vote was going to the American Kestrel anyways because they are (1) the most underrated American raptor, (2) are continuing to see population decline over multiple decades so any additional support helps, and (3) despite being the smallest raptor in this region of the world, they have many traits that make them unique and exceedingly deadly, therefore making them worthy of being crowned the 2025 Fowl Hysteria champ! The earlier blog about them hit all the major things that should win people's votes but just to summarize for the people who may have missed it:
- Multiple killing methods - From a perch, hovering (only American falcon that can do this), or as a family/group to teach the young
- Males and females look VERY different - Helpful when bird-spotting and being able to say a bird is male or female (makes birders like me feel like they really know their stuff). Additional cool fact: The back of their heads have falcon "faces" in them to help deter attacks from behind
- Can see ultraviolet light - Track prey using urine tracks
- Eat tons of insects as part of their wide-ranging diet - Great for keeping your backyard party free of pests. In that way they're like bats but in the daytime and with feathers (and bats are part of the Kestrel diet too).
- Immense lethality-to-size ratio - It cannot be overstated how lethal these birds are despite their small size. In fact, because they are so small and are less able to deal with struggling prey, their beak is specifically shaped to allow them to quickly sever the spinal column and kill prey they've caught. This skill allows them to either eat immediately or store for later. This is an important skill as kestrels are the only falcon that stores food year round and not just during mating seasons.
They’re also very… intense. I live in a high-rise building and they tend to perch on my windowsill (on the 24th floor), which I thought was kind of odd.
But one of them (I swear it was the same one every morning) had the habit of waking me up and staring me down every morning while incessantly chirping. I researched its call and found out it’s the call they make when they are super angry, which I found disturbing.
A few days after that, more and more of them at a time started showing up on at windows (three sides of my apartment have windows), and at one point there were something like 13-14 kestrels at my living room window when I went out to cook dinner one night.
I was very glad when the weather turned cooler and they migrated south because I swear had they found a way to get inside my apartment they would have eaten off my face. (The kestrel got my vote.)
Rip bushtit
The rest of this bracket is null and void. The Bushtit is forever the winner.
We all know who won our hearts
The GB Heron is a very unique, interesting, and cool looking bird that deserves a spot in the final, but I will knock off points for some of its more "jerkish" behaviors. They can be super aggressive when compared to other bird species as it relates to their territory and, even more troubling, I've watched (on multiple instances) them bully ducks in order to snatch their ducklings for a quick meal. I understand "nature is violence" and all that, but a bird that is primarily known for its fishing acumen resorting to unprovoked bird-on-bird violence is a big negative for me here.
All that being said, my vote was going to the American Kestrel anyways because they are (1) the most underrated American raptor, (2) are continuing to see population decline over multiple decades so any additional support helps, and (3) despite being the smallest raptor in this region of the world, they have many traits that make them unique and exceedingly deadly, therefore making them worthy of being crowned the 2025 Fowl Hysteria champ! The earlier blog about them hit all the major things that should win people's votes but just to summarize for the people who may have missed it:
- Multiple killing methods - From a perch, hovering (only American falcon that can do this), or as a family/group to teach the young
- Males and females look VERY different - Helpful when bird-spotting and being able to say a bird is male or female (makes birders like me feel like they really know their stuff). Additional cool fact: The back of their heads have falcon "faces" in them to help deter attacks from behind
- Can see ultraviolet light - Track prey using urine tracks
- Eat tons of insects as part of their wide-ranging diet - Great for keeping your backyard party free of pests. In that way they're like bats but in the daytime and with feathers (and bats are part of the Kestrel diet too).
- Immense lethality-to-size ratio - It cannot be overstated how lethal these birds are despite their small size. In fact, because they are so small and are less able to deal with struggling prey, their beak is specifically shaped to allow them to quickly sever the spinal column and kill prey they've caught. This skill allows them to either eat immediately or store for later. This is an important skill as kestrels are the only falcon that stores food year round and not just during mating seasons.
I always love seeing a Heron, but VOTE KESTREL!!
This is so eloquent. Does anyone have a counter-argument for the heron???
They’re also very… intense. I live in a high-rise building and they tend to perch on my windowsill (on the 24th floor), which I thought was kind of odd.
But one of them (I swear it was the same one every morning) had the habit of waking me up and staring me down every morning while incessantly chirping. I researched its call and found out it’s the call they make when they are super angry, which I found disturbing.
A few days after that, more and more of them at a time started showing up on at windows (three sides of my apartment have windows), and at one point there were something like 13-14 kestrels at my living room window when I went out to cook dinner one night.
I was very glad when the weather turned cooler and they migrated south because I swear had they found a way to get inside my apartment they would have eaten off my face. (The kestrel got my vote.)
This reminds me of Barry Petchesky's masterpiece at The Old Deadspin: https://deadspin.com/fuck-you-pelicans-are-awesome-a-defense-of-the-nbas-b-5966336/