Summary
- Natural history: Vermont’s most colorful bird of prey is also one of the few species in the state that hunt by hovering in midair, and it holds one of the largest breeding ranges of any bird nesting here, stretching from the Canadian subarctic south to the tip of South America. Because it cannot excavate its own nest cavity, the kestrel depends on old woodpecker holes or nest boxes, and its recent decline has been linked to disappearing farmland and hedgerow trees, West Nile virus, and a growing population of Cooper’s Hawks that prey on kestrels. A highway program has responded by mounting nearly twenty nest boxes on the backs of road signs along a hundred-mile stretch of interstate highway, though fledglings from those boxes face a new risk from passing traffic.
- Status in VT: Declined by 26% (140 to 103 blocks). Greatest losses in Northeastern Highlands and Southern Vermont Piedmont.
- Data from other research: No additional data in VT.
- Conservation status: State rank S4B; SGCN-M; SSC
- Other atlases: NY: -14%; PA: -13%; MD: -33%; ON: -9 to -88%
- VT’s role in North American range: VT is within the core of the range.
- Causes of change since first Atlas: Loss of agricultural areas due to forest succession and urban/suburban development, loss of cavities due to removal of hedgerows, habitat fragmentation. Possibly also West Nile Virus, increased predation from Cooper’s Hawk, collision with vehicles (especially for young).
- Management/Monitoring recommendations: Maintain grassland/scrubland habitat through management; landowner education to encourage awareness by farmers; use of kestrel-specific nest boxes placed 10-30 ft (3-9 m) high.
Population Trends
First Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas (1976-1981)
Second Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas (2003 – 2007)
Change in Distribution
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