Data entry and management instructions

Thanks for reaching out about this bird! The American Kestrel Partnership works with the University of North Texas to conduct research on wintering kestrels at two sites in Texas, but neither research area is near your location. (One is centered around Denton County near Dallas, the other in Gillespie County near Fredericksburg.) That said, one of our partners may be doing similar research in the Houston area, or know of someone who is, so if so we encourage them to reach out to you.

A question for you: we're always looking for photos to use in our printed materials and on our social media accounts. If you've been photographing this bird for six years we're guessing you've got some good ones—would you be willing to share any with us? We'd credit you any time they were used.

Thanks again!

Matthew
AKP Staff

Hi Kevin -

Yes, absolutely! We recommend that AKP partners check their boxes a bare minumum of TWO times during the year: once when they strongly supect there are eggs, and again within 30 days check for nestlings. Our ideal protocol is that folks check their boxes and report their observations every two weeks during the breeding season, which lasts from early March to mid-July in much of North America.

More frequent checks allow scientists to examine how many birds ultimately fledge, as you surmised, but also the precise timing of breeding events, how often nests fail and at what stage of development, how often boxes are used for multiple nesting attempts in the same year, competition events with other species, and much more. Singular observations demonstrate only that a breeding attempt occurred in a specific location; valuable information to be sure, but far less information than can be gleaned from a more rigorous protocol.

You can read more about our recommended protocol—and why we recommend it—at this page on our website. Let us know if you have any further questions!

Matthew
AKP Staff