The American Kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon, is declining across the Northeast. While there are many possible causes, habitat degradation is likely an important factor. Unfortunately, little is know about how manage land in a way that will best support this species. In 2021 Clifton Institute staff and interns, along with Dr. Joe Kolowski (Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation) and Alan Williams tagged 19 female kestrels with GPS transmitters. The goal was to compare the kestrels’ use of four field types (cattle pastures, hay fields, row crops, and natural grasslands) as hunting grounds. In this talk Executive Director Dr. Bert Harris will share preliminary findings from this study, which indicate that cattle pastures outperformed all other field types as kestrel habitat.

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89135739843