Volunteers Needed For Next Season
By Mike Borysewicz
In the winter of 2025, Spokane Audubon procured a $1,000 National Audubon Society Collaborative Grant to expand the chapter’s kestrel nest box program. We used the grant money to purchase materials and supplies to construct 30 nest boxes, adding to the ten we already had in place from last year.
We partnered with Eastern State Hospital, WA Department of Natural Resources, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Hutton Settlement, and nine private landowners to install boxes on their properties in western Spokane County.
Mike Borysewicz installing a brand new kestrel nest box
Of the 40 total boxes now in the program, four were occupied by the target species in 2025. Three of these were successful, producing a total of 10 kestrel fledglings. A female kestrel laid eggs in the fourth box, but these became non-viable after starlings removed all the wood chip nesting substrate from the box. Three separate boxes were occupied by other native bird species (tree swallows and northern flickers).
Open country is the best location for a kestrel nest box.
It can sometimes take more than one season for a nesting pair of kestrels to find and decide to occupy a box, so we are hopeful that the success rate of the program will increase this coming nesting season.
This jumble of feathers is a clutch of 4 nestling kestrels.
We would like to add to the number of boxes in the program this winter. If you have woodworking skills, shop tools (table / skill saw, drill, hand tools) and an interest in contributing to the conservation of these beautiful little falcons, we could use you! We will supply the nest box plans, and materials for box construction. We can also use another volunteer or two to monitor nest boxes. If you are interested, please contact program chair Mike Borysewicz.
