Smiley and Princess have been at the nestbox pretty much all morning - since before 0400h.
They disappear for short periods then return then disappear again. Princess is spending a lot (for her) time right inside the nestbox just hanging out and doing a bit of scraping. The scraping is not unusual post-nesting behaviour, the hanging out inside is I think her age showing a bit - she gets to nap without having to be on constant alert. She most certainly did not do this after she lost her chicks in 2008. Interesting - smart bird who changes her behaviour to maximize her downtime.
T-Rex had at least one cubby hole where he used to do the same thing. I found it by accident when I was meeting with folks who had American Kestrels nesting in the cornices of their building. Just happened that I was in their offices and he landed across the street and walked in under an overhang and curled up and went to sleep in the middle of the day. He was another smart bird.
