Description
YES! I want a kestrel/screech owl nest box for my property!
Price: $40 plus sales tax
Kestrel nest boxes do not have the ability to be shipped. Local pick up/delivery only.
I understand that a volunteer from the Black Hills Raptor Center will contact me as soon as my box(es) is/are built, and will either deliver them to me, or arrange a pick-up time.
I am responsible for putting them up in correct habitat if I plan to use it for screech owls or Kestrels. However, if I just want it as a large nesting box, it can be used for that, too.
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Habitat information for
American Kestrels:
Habitat
Widespread through North America, Central America and South America
Prefer edges, with trees for roosting and perches, and open grassy areas for hunting.
Appearance
A small, roughly Blue Jay-sized falcon. The male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast with his rusty-red back and tail. The female has the same warm red-brown on her wings, back and tail. Both male and female have vertical black markings on the sides of their pale faces (malar stripes)
Wingspan
50-61cm (20 to 24 inches)
Weight
80-165 grams, or 2.8 to 5.8 ounces – about as much as a stick of butter
Foraging methods
Can hover in the air over a field with rapid wingbeats, or perch and scan the ground for prey. Swift enough to catch and eat dragonflies on the wing.
Breeding
From mid-April to mid-June, may lay four to five eggs in a cavity such as a tree hollow or rock crevice
Diet In summer: grasshoppers, dragonflies, and other insects; mice, small rodents, and songbirds.
Conservation status Scientific studies have documented declines of kestrel populations by more than 50% in the past 50 years.
Visit the American Kestrel Partnership https://kestrel.peregrinefund.org/ to learn how you can become a citizen scientist for American Kestrels!
BH Raptor Center, PO Box 48 Caputa, SD 57725 info@blackhillsraptorcenter.org
605-391-2511
