If you live near an open area with low vegetation and plenty of small rodents and insects, The Peregrine Fund encourages you to consider building a nesting box for American Kestrels. Not only will you have the opportunity to watch these beautiful birds of prey raise a family; you will also get to contribute to one of our research projects: The American Kestrel Partnership.

The American Kestrel Partnership was launched to address the declining kestrel population in North America.It consists of a network of amateur enthusiasts and leading kestrel experts. The project asks citizen scientists of all ages across North America to build and monitor nest boxes. Monitoring consists of visiting your nest box weekly during nesting season to count eggs and chicks. You, as a citizen scientist, would then report these numbers to the project’s website to contribute to the data we are collecting. Building and monitoring a nest box is a fun and unique way to directly contribute to The Peregrine Fund’s research, and a great way to engage your family in wildlife observation.

Building and installing a kestrel nest box is easy and can be done for around $10-$15. They are also available for sale at The World Center for Birds of Prey, both in the gift shop and the online store: http://shop.peregrinefund.org/. These boxes also make great gifts for nature enthusiasts and wonderful educational tools for children! Since breeding season has not started yet, January is the perfect time to get your kestrel nest box set up.

For instructions on building, installing, and monitoring nest boxes, plus detailed information about the American Kestrel Partnership, please visit http://www.peregrinefund.org/american-kestrel.