Fall hawk watch season has arrived and birds like the American Kestrel are dispersing and beginning to move south. This vibrant raptor of open habitats is declining across much of its range.
We can help it by providing nest boxes in places such as grasslands and farms. Did you have a nesting pair on your property or want to put up a box for them next year? If so let us know! We really want to encourage their success by further utilizing the vast open spaces of the western New York area. We would love to have a network of citizen scientists erecting nest boxes on their own private property and monitoring for activity during nesting season for a variety of species. The more boxes we can place the more young we should be able to fledge. In this case the American Kestrel needs a sizable amount of open space with at least several acres immediately near the box and 50 or 100 acres of open lands surrounding it.
Please contact me for more information at: skruitbosch@rtpi.org
Thanks!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Photo © Scott Kruitbosch
