Good morning,
My dad and I are considering assembling and placing an American Kestrel nest box in the field across the street from his house. He lives in a very rural area of western Massachusetts. I have actually seen kestrels hovering above the field across the street from his house, and this has encouraged our idea to put up a box. There are a few considerations and questions I have before we do:
1.) There are free-range cattle across the street in the field where we would like to place the post and box. Does this pose a problem?
2.) If not, there is a small (~15ft) pine tree which we could de-limb and put the box on. Is this acceptable? If not, we will place a post in the ground.
Please see the attached images of the proposed site. Comments and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
Thank you!
- Channing Lyon
Comments
Your site looks perfect to me
Your site looks perfect to me, a complete neophyte. My concern in Texas is the possibility of tree-climbing snakes invading the nest box to gorge on eggs or hatchlings. Using a smooth pole or clearing away tree branches immediately below your nest box should prevent a snake invasion. In addition, I am considering banding my tree with a wide tin strip immediately below the nest box. Please post your progress!