Kestrel Nest Box, St. Nicolai Church, Alfeld Live Cam

This camera looks into a kestrel nest box on Saint Nicolai Church in Alfeld, the twin-towered Gothic church of this Leine valley town. From above it shows the floor of wood chips, the board walls and the bright opening of the box.

Alfeld lies on the Leine about 20 km south-west of Hildesheim. Saint Nicolai, its Evangelical-Lutheran main church, began as a Romanesque basilica in the late 11th century and became a Gothic hall church around 1400. The town is also known for the Fagus Factory by Walter Gropius, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The camera was fitted inside the box during roof work on the church in June 2020. Kestrels breed in such boxes from about April to July, when eggs and chicks lie right in front of the lens. A wooden block runs along the front, and a slice of the town shows through the opening.