American Kestrels - Delaware Co.- Tuttle

E-mail from Dick Tuttle, Photo Frank Germann

Hello Everyone, Today, Friday 20 April 2007, Dick Phillips and I monitored 18 American Kestrel nest boxes hanging from utility poles (mostly) in Delaware County. We found ten active nests with eggs or females sitting on eggs. Among the eight remaining boxes, we found four with "kestrel cups" showing falcon activity in the wood shavings, three with grass added by starlings, and one with two kestrel eggs and the remains of two broken eggs at the foot of the box.

Aluminum flashing protects all of the boxes from climbing predators this year and muddy prints and scratches on one pole shows that the flashing has repelled one raccoon already this year.

Interestingly, at this time during the 2006 year, the boxes also contained ten active nests. Ultimately, kestrels raised 12 families (57) from 15 attempts last year. Keep your fingers crossed for a good year for our roadside falcons.

Raptor on, Dick Tuttle