North Yorkshire wildlife artist Robert E Fuller tells the story of 'hen pecked' kestrel Apollo and his tempestuous relationship with partner, Athena

I spent a lot of time earlier this year developing this woodland, known as Ash Wood, into an ideal habitat for wildlife and so when I noticed him sitting at the entrance to one of my bespoke boxes, calling for a female to join him, I was pleased to see that my work had paid off.

When a male kestrel wants to attract a mate, he selects a potential nest site and then perches outside, calling repeatedly. If available, a female will respond to these calls by swooping down for an inspection. If she likes it, and only if she is pleased, she will concede to mating with the male.

But this male called and called to no avail. After a week without any response, he set off to find a partner for himself. In the meantime, a female barn owl moved into the box and stood resolutely inside.

I was delighted when the male kestrel returned to the site with a beautiful young female in tow. However, when they went to look inside, they were shocked to find the box had been taken by the owl.

Both kestrels beat a hasty retreat. They tried for several weeks to evict the owl, but the owl was not for moving.

The male, who now had nowhere to offer his new friend, had to start the whole process of trying to find a suitable nest site all over again. Over the next week, I saw him visit every nest site at Ash Wood and Fotherdale. But they were already occupied.

Competition for good nest sites is fierce here on the Yorkshire Wolds, so I decided to help this young male kestrel out and build him a new home.

I worked round the clock, fashioning a box from a hollow ash trunk. When it was ready, I hoisted it up into a tree in Ash Wood where it looked very natural set against the rest of the habitat.

The new nest box had cameras hidden inside. I streamed the action from this bird cam onto my YouTube channel so that my followers could also see what happened.

The kestrel soon had devoted fanbase of people from all around the world who tuned in at all hours to see how it was getting on. These fans named him Apollo.

At first, it was disheartening to see Apollo’s new box being visited by a pair of stock doves, a jackdaw and a tawny owl!

But, thankfully, it didn’t take long for the kestrel to also find my nest box and begin calling out again for his young female. My cameras even caught him digging a shallow scrape into the floor of the nest as if testing just how perfectly this box would suit a clutch of kestrel eggs.

Eventually I spotted his young female friend at the nest too. But, perhaps put off by her previous disappointment, or just not in good enough condition to lay after the cold spring, she seemed somewhat reluctant.

My cameras captured her near the nest entrance as she hesitated briefly, as if weighing up her options, before eventually changing her mind and sloping off. Apollo didn’t even bother to follow her. I wondered if he had decided that this relationship wasn’t worth the effort?

Thankfully, a few days later a new female appeared. Apollo could barely contain his excitement and bowed up and down excitedly as he welcomed her into the new nest box.

Females are distinguishable from males by their brown colouring which is quite distinct from the grey-blue of the head and tail of a male. This female had a grey tinge to her tail too which told me that she was around three years old. Apollo’s fans on the YouTube livestream named her Athena.

Kestrels are sexually mature when they are a year old, but most do not manage to secure a mate and breeding territory until their second year.

They also do not attain their full adult plumage until they are two to three years old. From the barring on Apollo’s tail feathers, black streaks on his head as well as the way that he behaved,

I suspected he was coming up to two years old and that this could be his first courtship.

He was certainly very enthusiastic about having managed to attract a second female and it was endearing to watch him rush out and fetch Athena a vole, and even a lizard, which is a real treat here on the Yorkshire Wolds where these reptiles are relatively rare to see.

But it had been a cold and dry spring here on the Yorkshire Wolds and food was scarce. It wasn’t long before Apollo began to struggle to keep up his supply of treats for Athena.

Being able to show the female that you can provide for her and her chicks is an important part of kestrel courtship. So, the lack of food available held no sway with this female.

One day Apollo returned to the nest with only a wriggling worm to offer her and she quickly whipped herself into a rage, cornering him inside the nest and screeching at him! Apollo was terrified and I watched in alarm as he tried to climb up the sides of the walls of the nest to escape her fury.

But her form filled the entrance hole and blocked his exit as she continued to screech at him. After a stand-off that lasted a good few minutes, she eventually gave way and Apollo managed a swift escape. Soon, the hapless kestrel was back with a fat vole, which Athena snatched from his talons in fit of pique.

An uneasy truce followed in which Apollo seemed to have learnt a valuable lesson. Never was Athena without a constant supply of food again.

Shortly afterwards, I glimpsed the pair mating on a branch close to the nest, a sign that this couple had at last overcome their difficulties.

It wasn’t long before Athena laid her first, reddish-brown egg. When Apollo returned to the nest one morning, he was startled to see it for the first time. But he seemed delighted and immediately sat down to protect it.

Four more eggs followed and out of these three healthy chicks survived and went on to fledge successfully.

As I think back on this male kestrel’s mission to find a mate this season, it makes me smile that his fans named him Apollo.

Apollo is the Greek god of light and reason, moderation and all things harmonious and considering how hard this kestrel worked to keep the peace in his relationship, the name suits him perfectly.