It’s with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Montgomery, our exhibit American Kestrel. 

Montgomery first arrived at VINS as a patient on September 8th, 2014. He was found in Berkshire, VT after multiple people noticed him on the ground for a few days. It is unclear how he became injured, but a likely cause was being hit by a car. In the initial exam he was found to have trauma to his left eye and a fracture to his left wing. Montgomery was also emaciated as he was unable to feed himself after sustaining those injuries. 

After nearly two months receiving treatment for his injuries rehabilitation staff decided his injuries were too severe for release. Though he was able to navigate his enclosure it became apparent he was blind in his left eye and the fracture was severe enough that his wing could not allow for perfect flight, which is necessary for birds to hunt and survive out in the wild. On November 12, 2014 Montgomery was added to the exhibit to live out the rest of his days as an ambassador to his species.

Montgomery was likely a hatch year bird when he arrived for care at VINS, so he was 11 years old when he passed. For such a small bird this is a long life even in a captive setting. Most kestrels are lucky to make it past their second year!

Montgomery will be deeply missed by all who met him over the years. He could often be seen perched next to his enclosure-mate, loudly calling out “killy-killy-killy”—a common kestrel call—after being fed his afternoon meal. The loss of every bird is always difficult, even for our pint-sized ambassadors. He will be missed.

Adopt in memory of Montgomery, and help provide care to our animal ambassadors at the VINS Nature Center.

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Our kestrel monitoring season is winding down and we are just waiting on a few boxes to fledge at this point. We have banded all the nestlings in our network and finished the season with a total of 33 chicks banded, up from 29 last season.

Our network now has a total of 80 boxes throughout Vermont and New Hampshire with a majority on private land. Of those 80 boxes only ten were used, and of those ten, only seven were successful. Several locations had confirmed nesting nearby and the hope is that in the future they will choose a box. Unfortunately some of the boxes installed by landowners are not in kestrel habitat and may never be used.

Between monitoring and banding we were able to expand our network to include more locations in ideal kestrel habitat, most with confirmed sightings and nesting behavior. We hope next year we can increase the number of birds banded and to include adults in our monitoring. We are always looking for new locations to add boxes and will continue to install through the fall. If you have kestrels on your property or know of a location that could use a box be sure to let us know.

*Precautions were taken to reduce the transmission of HPAI including hand sanitation and decontamination of equipment

The post American Kestrel Research Updates From the Field – 2022 Season Wrap Up appeared first on Nature Blog.

Our latest American Kestrel Monitoring Project is an aspect of fulfilling the VINS’ mission that utilizes our expertise in working with raptors and leverages our network of dedicated followers.

American Kestrel populations are experiencing declines throughout their range according to data from breeding bird surveys and nest box monitoring programs. In Vermont there have been “recent negative population trends in Atlas (Renfrew 2013) and BBS data for VT (NS) and survey-wide (Sauer et al. 2011). [Kestrels] were listed as Species of Special Concern in 2009 with a concern about population in the Northeast as a whole. Development of farmland, habitat succession, West Nile virus, and changes in farming practices are issues in the northeastern US that appear to affect these populations.” (Vermont Fish and Wildlife Action Plan)

VINS’ looks to combine community action with field research in an effort to help restore and protect this vulnerable species in our region. VINS’ along with a dedicated volunteer bander, Dave Merker, have established a network of approximately 30 nest boxes throughout the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. These boxes are installed on private property and are either monitored by the property owner or a staff member.

By taking over this project we look to expand this network to include more boxes and successful breeding pairs. We have created a map of box locations and will continue to search for and engage land owners with suitable habitat for kestrels. Through our educational programming we hope to inspire people to build and install nest boxes on their properties and monitor as part of our ongoing project.

VINS will also be collaborating with other organizations to investigate potential causes for kestrel declines. We are currently partnering with Middlebury College to sample for mercury in birds that come through or rehab department. As part of our kestrel monitoring we hope to expand feather collection to kestrels utilizing our nest boxes. With land owner permission there is also potential to sample soils for the presence of mercury at nest locations. We have also been sending deceased kestrels from our rehab department to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania as part of their project sampling for agricultural contaminants in wild populations. Any deceased kestrels encountered in the field would also be sent to their lab.

This complete look at kestrel populations will better help us understand their movements and factors causing declines. Our findings will allow us to better educate our participating landowners and audiences in programs and on social media on ways to take action to conserve this species.

Email Jim Armbruster jarmbruster@vinsweb.org for info on how to host a box

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