Monitoring the American Kestrel

An article from Perspectives From the Field
Writing by Carl Evers III, AgIS Capital Director of Sustainability

AgIS Capital is pleased to partner with Napa County and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) on a project to monitor the American Kestrel on one of our permanent crop assets. Kestrel nest boxes have been placed throughout our property to support the research for this program.

Kestrel nest boxes have been placed in open areas throughout an AgIS Capital wine grape asset.  Each box is equipped with a camera and temperature logger and has a thin layer of wood shavings or debris on the floor to support eggs and nestlings.

Despite being North America’s most plentiful falcon, The Peregrine Fund points out that “a look at population numbers reveals a perplexing mystery: continent-wide, American Kestrels have declined by nearly half since the 1960s.”

A male Kestrel bringing a rodent back to its nest box for food.

AgIS Capital’s very important project will assist, not only Napa County and UC Davis, but other research efforts throughout the State of California aimed at understanding and supporting the population of California’s great raptors.

In the future we will report back with a Kestrel #2 post citing more findings from this very important research project.

Map of box locations throughout the AgIS Capital vineyard. Blue pins are occupied by American Kestrels, purple by Western Screech Owls, brown by other species (songbirds), and grey are unoccupied.