General Discussion : Central Oregon Kestrels

We are past the mid-point of the Central Oregon Kestrel season. We have 11 boxes yet to band and the last two will be on July 20. We have had 52 active boxes, which is about average for us. However, one aspect is well above average this year and that is nestling survival. I haven't run the numbers yet, but a guesstimate would be an amazing 85%. I define nestling survival as the % of hatchlings that survive to be banded, usually at 21 days or more. The time period here that most nestlings are growing in the boxes is the month of June. The consistently warm weather has meant plentiful food, which means very healthy nestlings, including the runts. This comes after an extremely rough winter, when it was difficult to imagine a warm month of June. 

The photo is that of a flegling sporting a new band.

 

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Comments:

Delorahilleary's picture

Wow, what an amazing survival rate. Thanks for the info, that's really neat!

Posted in General Discussion by Don McCartney 6 years 9 months ago.