FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From HawkWatch International                 CONTACT: Nikki Price                       
2240 South 900 East                                    Membership & Public Relations Coordinator
Salt Lake City, UT  84106                            (801) 484-6808, ext. 101
 

American Kestrels Declining

Study by Leading Raptor Scientists Indicates a Decline in America’s Smallest Falcon

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) populations are declining throughout North America, according to a study by HawkWatch International, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and other partners.  The study results, first reflected within various chapters of the 2008 book entitled State of North America’s Birds of Prey, are now also included in the December 2009 edition of the Journal of Raptor Research, which is a special issue focused on the species. (Click here to access the article).

Migration counts of the American Kestrel from 20 autumn migration sites throughout North America were analyzed in order to estimate population trends.  The results suggest long-term declines in northeastern North America and more recent declines in the Midwestern and western regions of the continent.  These declines may be due to several factors, including poisoning by pesticides in agricultural areas, predation by increasing populations of Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii), development and reforestation of preferred habitats, and potential exposure to the West Nile virus.

 “Evidence of widespread kestrel declines affords an opportunity for proactive conservation action to help keep common species common,” says study co-author HWI Science Director Jeff Smith.  “Our hope is that raising this red flag concerning the plight of one of our most well known raptor species stimulates new research to identify the causes of the species’ decline before it becomes a crisis situation.”

HawkWatch International is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the environment through education, long-term monitoring, and scientific research on raptors as indicators of ecosystem health.

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