American Kestrel

Anyone who has ever seen an American Kestrel hover above a meadow just before diving on its prey can appreciate the beauty of this colorful bird. Unfortunately, our smallest falcon is in big trouble.

Kestrels have been recorded in the Bay State since the early days of European settlement. Only 50 years ago, they could be seen perched on a tree or utility pole near any field of sufficient size.

Now, they are becoming more and more difficult to find. Three major indices (Christmas Bird Counts, Breeding Bird Atlases, and Breeding Bird Surveys) all confirm that the population of American Kestrels in Massachusetts has dropped precipitously in the past few decades.

In response, Mass Audubon launched the American Kestrel Project with the goal of learning more about where American Kestrels are nesting, and what habitats they prefer to use for nesting.   The American Kestrel Project is part of a larger bird conservation effort called Birds to Watch that Mass Audubon has developed to ensure that birds have a future in the modern world.

How You Can Help
There are several ways for you to get involved and help the American Kestrel population recover.

Donate
Building the nest boxes, mounting them on poles, and getting them where they need to go entail significant expenses. By donating to Mass Audubon, you can help fund new homes for kestrels in need. Donate today!

Report
Become one of our citizen scientists by helping to document the presence of American Kestrels in your neighborhood or community. To participate, look for an American Kestrel from May through July and tell us about it with our easy online reporting tool.

Monitor
If you've got a lot of time and enthusiasm, we could use your help as a volunteer Kestrel Box Monitor. Volunteers will be assigned to check boxes frequently during the breeding season and to record important breeding data for use in evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Contact us.