Darner

One of our newest education birds at The Raptor Center is this young female American kestrel. At TRC we try not to think of the birds in human terms, but since we have over 30 education birds we do name them so that we can keep them straight. Often when we get a new bird we let the community suggest names. This helps to get people more interested in raptors and The Raptor Center. Sometimes, though, the volunteers get to make the suggestions as a reward for all of the time that we donate. In the case of this female kestrel it was up to the volunteers to make the suggestions and I am very proud to say that the name that I suggested was chosen. Let me introduce you to Darner the female American kestrel. We try to name them something that we can use as a teachable moment when we are talking to people during programs or tours. American kestrel primarily eat large insects like grasshoppers, moths, butterflies and dragonflies. During migration they primarily eat common green darner dragonflies that migrate south at the same time. This is the reasoning for Darner's new name.