We have been working with cooperators around southeastern and south-central WI on deploying kestrel nestboxes and gathering monitoring data for a number of years. This effort is ramping up even more in 2018. We will have a statewide meeting of Wisconsin partners on March 19th in Columbia County, and will meet with representatives of the nation-wide American Kestrel Partnership from The Peregrine Fund. If you'd like to participate, there are several ways:
- build and erect a kestrel nestbox in appropriate habitat
- monitor your nestbox, using a standard data sheet and protocol which we provide, and send to us.
We can forward information on both aspects of the project. If you are interested, or have questions, contact William Mueller, at
The Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory has joined the American Kestrel Partnership spearheaded by The Peregrine Fund. American Kestrel populations are experiencing long-term declines in North America, and existing data are insufficient for understanding the causes. In the Western Great Lakes states, Breeding Bird Survey data for 1999-2009 show an annual decline of 6.3% in Wisconsin, a larger annual decline than in IL (-4.1%), MI (-2.6%), MN (-1.8%), or IN (-0.3%). In addition to these BBS data, Christmas Bird Count data, various nest-box monitoring programs, and migration counts, collectively indicate long-term regional declines of American Kestrel populations in North America. The causes are unknown, largely because of insufficient data, highlighting the need to generate data, models, and conservation strategies at a continent-wide scale.