Habitat characteristics of American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nesting sites in northwestern New Jersey
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
John Smallwood
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2023 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2023 10:44 AM
Description
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is a small, cavity-nesting falcon species that is widespread throughout North America but in recent decades their populations have been declining. Beginning in 1995 we established a nest-box program in northwestern New Jersey to study breeding kestrels; about 100 nest boxes are monitored each year. During the breeding seasons of 2021 and 2022 we measured the habitat characteristics of 67 nest sites: distance of nest box to cover, height of ground vegetation immediately surrounding the nest box, percent land use within 100 and 500 meters of the nest box, and abundance of potential prey in the area such as small birds and insects. Our objective was to characterize occupied and unoccupied nest sites, and then compare these characteristics between successful and unsuccessful nesting attempts. We considered a nest site to be successful if at least one chick survived to fledging. We found that, on average, the vegetation height of occupied sites was shorter than that of unoccupied. With respect to land use within 500 m, a discriminate analysis correctly identified 86.7% of the occupied nest sites, which mostly lacked woodlands or wetlands. Conducting similar habitat surveys in potential nests sites may improve current or future nest-box programs nationwide.
Habitat characteristics of American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nesting sites in northwestern New Jersey
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is a small, cavity-nesting falcon species that is widespread throughout North America but in recent decades their populations have been declining. Beginning in 1995 we established a nest-box program in northwestern New Jersey to study breeding kestrels; about 100 nest boxes are monitored each year. During the breeding seasons of 2021 and 2022 we measured the habitat characteristics of 67 nest sites: distance of nest box to cover, height of ground vegetation immediately surrounding the nest box, percent land use within 100 and 500 meters of the nest box, and abundance of potential prey in the area such as small birds and insects. Our objective was to characterize occupied and unoccupied nest sites, and then compare these characteristics between successful and unsuccessful nesting attempts. We considered a nest site to be successful if at least one chick survived to fledging. We found that, on average, the vegetation height of occupied sites was shorter than that of unoccupied. With respect to land use within 500 m, a discriminate analysis correctly identified 86.7% of the occupied nest sites, which mostly lacked woodlands or wetlands. Conducting similar habitat surveys in potential nests sites may improve current or future nest-box programs nationwide.