|
|
 Greetings friends and partners!
We are excited for the start of another American Kestrel breeding season and we cannot wait to see what the birds have in store for us! A special THANK YOU to all of our dedicated partners: your participation makes the American Kestrel Partnership a reality. We are ALWAYS interested in expanding our network. Becoming a partner is easy.Click here to get started. Our Kestrel Cam will be running in the coming weeks so check it out when you want to see what the resident kestrels are up to!
|
|
|
|
 Meet Dr. Sarah Schulwitz, the new Assistant Director of the American Kestrel Partnership!
Sarah’s career ambition is to work toward the conservation of avian species and their habitats through the combination of outreach, education, and research. Sarah has extensive experience in avian research and conservation, having conducted avian studies around the world, including in the United States, Chile, and Australia. Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master’s degree in biology from the University of North Texas with a focus on avian ecotoxicology. Just this month, she defended her dissertation, earning her doctorate in environmental science from the University of North Texas. In her dissertation, she used genetics methods to inform conservation management of at-risk wild bird populations. Sarah looks forward to working closely with partners across the Americas to achieve the goals of the American Kestrel Partnership. You can reach Sarah at Schulwitz.Sarah@peregrinefund.org and read her staff bio here.
|
|
|
|
 Kestrel season is up and running!
Partners have already reported eggs in nests. Here in Boise, Idaho, we are anticipating egg laying to begin any day now. The earliest nest on record in the American Kestrel Partnership was reported in San Jose, CA on 3/14/15. So, it suffices to say, kestrel breeding season is here! If you have already cleaned out your nest boxes, thank you from us and from your resident kestrels! If you have not had the chance yet this year, don’t fret - it’s okay to occasionally miss a spring clean. The kestrels will nest atop last year's detritus. We don’t want to risk nest abandonment during early stages of egg laying by cleaning boxes out too late in the season.
|
|
|
|
|
Monitoring Protocol Reminder
With springtime fast approaching, partners are setting up new boxes all over the country to expand their monitoring programs. It is best to set up a nest box ONLY if you plan on monitoring it - otherwise, you may just be setting up a nest box for starlings. Actively monitoring a nest box and preventing starlings gives you the best shot at assisting us with research into the American Kestrel’s mysterious decline.
A common question among partners is - how often do nest boxes need to be checked? Many experienced monitors with large nest box programs check their boxes weekly, but this may not be possible for all partners. With that in mind, we established minimal monitoring guidelines for providing useful data. We encourage everyone to check their nest box at least once when eggs are likely present, and then toreturn to check within 30 days. If eggs remain in the box still, then be sure to come back within 30 days again. This ensures that partners will be able to determine if eggs hatched into nestlings, and enables us to evaluate if the nest was successful or not. If you DO have the time, however, by all means, check weekly and please keep us in the loop! Recently published research shows that periodic checks do not adversely affect likelihood of nest success (Smallwood 2016).
|
|
 Box Plans & Reading Materials
For those of you building new boxes, check out the new box plan created by our friend Art Gingert of West Cornwall, Connecticut. This fabulous new nest box plan increases ease of access when checking nests as compared to our old designs.
If you love kestrels as much as we do and want to read more about their biology and monitoring their boxes, read our Guide to Biology and Nest Box Monitoring.
|
|
|
|
|
Stay Connected on Social Media and on our Forum
As always, we love to see your photos, read your stories, and field your questions. Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter where you can share your experience and see what other partners are up to. If you have questions or suggestions for us or other partners, please visit our web forum at http://hub.peregrinefund.org/groups/49/subgroups. Other partners may have insight for you, or may learn something from your questions! We encourage discussion between partners on the forum and look forward to fostering a vibrant online community for the American Kestrel Partnership!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
