When we arrived at Tommy Kinch’s barn near Douglas, Kansas, it was already a beehive of activity. Tommy is an avid falconer and a member of the Kansas Hawking Club. Joyce and I and our grandson Jacob Friesen had come to help club members build Kestrel nest boxes. Tables were set up as work benches, and stacks of parts precut and prepared by Tommy and his wife Becky sat in neat, organized piles awaiting assembly. While Tommy oversaw the operation, Becky made a pizza run and the other nine of us worked together to build and assemble nest boxes.
Kestrels are Kansas’ smallest, most common and most colorful falcons. Often known as sparrow hawks, grasshopper hawks or house hawks, kestrels are about the size of a blue jay with pointed wings that span around 22 inches when mature. They are very colorful, with slate colored wings, bright rufus- orange back plumage, two black stripes across each check and a blue crown.
The Peregrine Fund was established in 1970 in response to dwindling peregrine falcon populations in the Northeastern US. In 1999 peregrines were removed from the endangered species list and the organization decided to apply its experience and understanding to other dwindling raptor populations internationally. In 2012, the Peregrine Fund launched the American Kestrel Partnership (AKP) in response to long-term declining kestrel populations. “The AKP is a network of citizens and professional scientists working together to better understand kestrels and to advance conservation and habitat practices that will boost American kestrel populations.” Although Kansas seems to have a stable population of kestrels, studies by the AKP show their numbers to be slightly on the decline in the central one-half of Kansas.
Kestrels can often be identified by their well-known hunting technique of hovering over open grass and prairie land looking for mice and large insects which are their main diet. They like open country with a few dead trees, lone bushes and fence posts. They like to be able to see their entire hunting domain from a single perch somewhere. They can also be identified by their habit of repeatedly “bobbing” their tails when perched high on a power pole or fence post. They are cavity nesters and can readily be attracted to nest boxes placed in the correct habitat. Tommy lives along a gravel road a few miles from the town of Douglas, KS, and a nest box 15 feet off the ground on a nearby power pole has been home to a Kestrel family for a couple years now.
Maria Ornelos, Senior Administrative Assistant with Kansas Dept of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is in charge of all paperwork and administrative issues for the falconry program here in Kansas. Maria was there to help build nest boxes, and told me “I see it as an opportunity to become more informed about the sport of falconry so I’m better prepared to help with any issues involving the sport that come across my desk.”
Chris Ly from Overbrook, KS is the current president of the Kansas Hawking Club. Last year the club began an annual project of building kestrel nesting boxes in response to the American Kestrel Partnership’s desire to bolster kestrel numbers. Chris told me “Falconers are well known for being stalwart conservationists and this seemed like a good way to give back to the land. Kansas already has a good population of kestrels and we figured if we can increase the Kansas population even further, some birds will disperse into surrounding states.”
Tommy and Becky worked a whole day in their shop to have all the parts ready prior to last Sunday’s nest box assembly party. The boxes were taken home by everyone to be erected themselves or to be given away to others to put-up. A small bag of wood shavings for nesting material was included in each one, and the only maintenance necessary is to clean out each box after nesting season and place new nesting material inside. A couple coats of sealer will help the boxes weather better and last longer (1/2 linseed oil and 1/2 turpentine is suggested). Last year was the club’s first attempt at building these boxes and they built 15.
A friendly competition with the Oklahoma falconry club has developed, and this year the Kansas club produced 32 boxes, beating the reported Oklahoma clubs total of 30. By the way, these same nesting boxes can also attract screech owls if erected in a more wooded area. For more info about building and placing kestrel nest boxes and for the pattern used to make them, contact me at [email protected]. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.