American kestrels are North America's smallest falcon. They are a daytime predator that feeds on small mammals, lizards, and grasshoppers. Often seen on telephone wires, they nest in cavities in trees, old buildings, and rock faces and are year-round residents in Eastern Washington. It's unclear how stable their population is in the state and that's something North Central Washington Audubon wants to investigate using the large nesting population here as subjects. This talk will describe the extensive volunteer project to maintain and monitor over 200 kestrel nest boxes and the things we have learned in the last 5 years of monitoring, as well as goals for the future. 

Meet the Speakers:

Stu Smith is a retired Spatial Analyst, botanist, and former smoke jumper who contributes his GIS expertise to multiple conservation projects in Washington and beyond. He serves on NCWAS board of directors as data manager.

Richard Scranton is a semi-retired tree fruit research and development consultant. He was a gemologist in a former life and now serves as Conservation Science director for NCWAS.

Kent Woodruff is a retired US Forest Service biologist and local naturalist with a passion for birds, butterflied, bees, bats, and beavers. His friend Richard Hendrick was an avid birder who helped locate the first nesting peregrine falcons in eastern Washington in over 50 years and documented the first migrant broad-winged hawks at Chelan Ridge.