Kestrels Taking Turns on a Clutch of Eggs

An Artist's Research: Watch this amazing footage of a pair of kestrels as they take turns to incubate their clutch of five eggs. My nest cams filmed this pair over the course of a morning. The pair only actually swap roles twice during this time, but the female often gets up off the eggs and pops out to the entrance of the nest box to preen. In fact she is a very fidgety bird. Notice how she is constantly shifting about on the eggs and frequently distracted by shadows and insects in the box as she sits. In contrast the male sits very still as he incubates. He is an older male, perhaps a little calmer in temperament!