Today I drove from Van Wert to Defiance Ohio and then back down to Columbus.
I saw 10 kestrels, all north of Marion. I did drive the back roads but they
seemed to be everywhere. I have driven this same trip many times and never
recorded over 6 birds.
----- Original Message -----
From: "TUCKER, Casey" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 11:06 AM
Subject: [Ohio-birds] some more thoughts on Kestrel populations
> Hi All,
>
> First, let me apologize for posting this on the listserv. I know these
> discussions are what the forum was created for and my initial response was
> to help address the questions that Laura posted to the list. I hope folks
> don't mind too much.
>
> While Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) trend data between 1966-2005 seems to
> suggest that Kestrels have been decreasing across the United States by 0.1
> % per year, interestingly the Ohio BBS data actually suggests that
> they've been increasing by 1.4 %/per year (see: http://tinyurl.com/2lnonj
> <http://tinyurl.com/2lnonj> ). If anyone wants to check the trend data
> themselves they can visit the Breeding Bird Survey page for Kestrels:
> http://tinyurl.com/3byge3
>
> One of the things we have to remember is that BBS data is looking at
> abundance of breeding individuals, whereas Breeding Bird Atlas data is
> only looking for presence or absence of breeding indviduals. So in a
> Breeding Bird Atlas you could have 10, 100, 1000 individuals and it would
> only show up as present or absent. Breeding Bird Atlases are helpful in
> understand where birds are breeding in the state, whereas Breeding Bird
> Surveys help us get an idea of how many individuals are breeding. So if
> preliminary Breeding Bird Atlas data is suggesting that they've
> disappeared in some locations (for example in urban areas or areas
> undergoing development), it may also mean that they're breeding in other
> locations they may not have bred previously OR they are breeding in some
> locations in higher densities OR it may mean it's only the first year of a
> five year study and we need more observations to get a better picture of
> what is happening.
>
> Jim's observation of CBC data regarding numbers of participants on CBCs
> and Kestrels is an interesting one. Unfortunately, we can't always assume
> that because there are more people out looking that we will see more
> birds. Additionally, just comparing two points is problematic because one
> point might have been from an unusual year where we had an influx of
> Kestrels into the state, or an outflow of Kestrels. For example, the
> 1995-96 count had 1399 Kestrels with 1300 observers, but the 1999-2000
> count had 1390 Kestrels with 1251 observers. Additionally, the 1998-99
> count had 928 Kestrels with 1095 observers and the 2005-2006 count had 975
> Kestrels with 1437 obsevers. For these reasons it's better to look at
> trends, and take into consideration effort which is reported as party
> hours on CBCs.
>
> I think before we can make claims about the impact of agriculture on
> Kestrels we have to get some better data on changes in land use for
> agricultural purposes as well as agricultural practices (no till vs. till,
> pesticide usage, etc.). Anecdotally, agriculture has been changing in the
> state. Medium-sized farms are disappearing either due to purchase by big
> industrial farms, or division into housing developments. That being said,
> small individual or family farms are also increasing, as are organic
> farms. Again, this is all anecdotal and would need to be supported by
> some actual data.
>
> Interestingly, in September there will be a one-day symposium titled "Are
> American Kestrels in Decline?" that will explore this very issue. The
> symposium is being held in Pennsylvania. It will be interesting to see
> what comes out of that conference.
>
> There's also a group called Kestrels Across America that has been working
> to promote the installation of Kestrel nest boxes. You can check them out
> here: http://www.kestrelsacrossamerica.org/
>
> Obviously, regardless of whether they're decreasing or not anything that
> you can do, like the installation of a Kestrel nest box on your property
> and reducing use of pesticides, is beneficial for them and should not be
> discouraged. It's a good way of ensuring that you'll see them locally
> more often.
>
> Again, I'd be more than happy to share the data analysis I generated with
> folks who are interested.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Casey Tucker
>
> Columbus, OH
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio birds on behalf of Jim McCormac
> Sent: Sat 1/27/2007 12:38 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Am. Pipets in Holmes Co. & some thoughts on
> Kestrel populations
>
>
>
> Hi Casey and all,
> Wow! I hope you are right, but this conclusion flies in the face of much
> research that has been done on American Kestrels in the Midwestern and
> northeastern U.S. Many of us who spend lots of time traveling about and in
> the field began noticing what seemed to be lower numbers of this beautiful
> little falcon some years ago, and while this is less obvious in winter,
> when
> there is an influx of wintering birds to Ohio, it is dramatic in many
> areas
> during the breeding season. Kestrels really seemed to have dropped
> dramatically or even disappeared in many areas of the state as breeders,
> and
> Aaron Boone had looked at preliminary Breeding Bird Atlas data that seemed
> to bear this out, although it is still too premature to make definitive
> statements based on that data.
> A quick analysis of Christmas Bird Count data, which anyone can do at:
> http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html showed a statistically
> significant drop in kestrel numbers in Ohio as a whole over the last
> decade.
> Last year's counts produced a total of 975 kestrels, with a total of 1,437
> observers on 56 counts. In contrast, one decade earlier the 1995-96 CBC's,
> which also had 56 counts but only 1300 observers, produced 1,399 kestrels!
> So, in spite of an equal number of CBC's and 137 more observers, 424 FEWER
> kestrels were found last year as compared to ten years prior. This jives
> with much of the anecdotal observations that I've heard from active field
> reporters in Ohio in recent years.
> This decline is supported with data from elsewhere. For instance, the
> Breeding Bird Survey routes, which have been run since the 1960's, show a
> drop of about 1.4% a year for the northeast region, of which Ohio is on
> the
> western periphery of. Big hawk watches like Cape May and Hawk Mountain
> have
> been documenting statistically significant declines in kestrel numbers in
> migration in recent decades, too. An enlightening but somewhat depressing
> report issued by Hawk Mountain can be found here
> http://www.hawkmountain.org/raptor_conservation/CSR_AMKE.htm and seems to
> largely mirror what we are seeing in Ohio.
> Obvious problems for these little raptors include changes in overall
> agriculture which have led to conditions that aren't so conducive to
> providing good raptor habitat, and outright development. Regarding the
> latter, a look at the last ten years of the Columbus CBC - an area typical
> of rampant development associated with many bigger Ohio cities - shows a
> real kestrel decline. Ten years ago, 23 kestrels were found on the
> Columbus
> CBC; in 2005, only 8 were found.
> American Kestrels are cavity-nesters, and a lack of suitable nesting sites
> is probably hurting them, in addition to other factors. Placing nest boxes
> in suitable sites will help, and Dick Tuttle of Delaware, Ohio has done
> this
> in numerous sites and seen good results. The Ohio Ornithological Society
> has
> been working with American Electric Power to explore the possibility of
> erecting kestrel boxes in some of the vast reclaimed strip mine grasslands
> of SE Ohio, and hopefully that effort will bear some good results
> eventually. We are also looking at some other ways in which we might work
> with organizations to help kestrels via nest box placement in good
> habitats.
> Jim McCormac
> Columbus, Ohio
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> TUCKER, Casey
> Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 11:25 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Am. Pipets in Holmes Co. & some thoughts on
> Kestrel populations
>
> Hi Laura,
>
> I wanted to follow-up on your question regarding Kestrels in Ohio. After
> the last discussion on the listserv about the status of this species in
> the
> state I started looking at some Audubon Christmas Bird Count data to see
> if
> I could discern any patterns in population trends.
>
> I looked at Kestrel data (birds per party hour) from almost all of the
> CBCs
> in Ohio between 1960 (61st count) and 2005 (106th count). Using this data
> I
> was able to come up with a statewide trend for Kestrels in the state.
>
> I went through each count in the state and categorized them into one of
> four
> categories based on a rough estimation of the predominant habitat type
> within each count circle. The four categories were rural, urban, areas
> undergoing sprawl, or communities that have pretty much remained the same.
>
> I then looked at Kestrel trends for each of the four habitat types and
> compared them against the statewide trend.
>
> My rough analysis of CBC data suggests that over-wintering Kestrels are
> increasing statewide. However, they're increasing more in rural areas,
> and
> slightly more in communities that have not undergone much change. They
> seem
> to be decreasing pretty dramatically in urban areas. In communities
> undergoing change (i.e. development) Kestrels seem to be leveling out.
>
> Because over-wintering Kestrels seem to be increasing, based on this
> study,
> in rural areas irrespective of region of the state or agricultural type
> (which I did not examine) would potentially suggest that crop type or
> herbicide use may not be a factor.
>
> Again, this was just a rough analysis without any special statistical
> analysis to determine significance, etc., and it's only looking at birds
> recorded during the Christmas Bird Count period (mid-December to early
> January). I can send copies of the graphs in a microsoft word document to
> anyone who is interested in seeing them for themselves.
>
> Hope this helps answer your question a little,
>
> Casey
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio birds on behalf of [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Fri 1/26/2007 7:15 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc:
> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Am. Pipets in Holmes Co. & some thoughts on
> Kestrel populations
>
>
>
> Returning from our cottage in Coshocton Co. today, Tim & I drove
> some back
> roads in Holmes Co. & were lucky enough to find a flock of 10-20
> American
> Pipits feeding on some freshly spread manure. They were on CR 58
> just west of
> the intersection with T122 & T128. (Delorme 60A4--right above
> the"N" in
> Mechanic Township). Also saw a Rough-legged Hawk on T157, just
> outside of Charm
> (DeLorme 51D4).
>
> While driving these roads we saw quite a few kestrels, more than
> we
> have
> seen in similar habitat in other rural areas of Coshocton, Stark,
> Summit &
> Portage counties. (The counties we drive most often). Remembering
> the discussions
> we have seen on this list-serve regarding possible kestrel
> population
> declines, we wondered what might be different in Holmes Co.
> Could
> the use of
> Round-up Ready crops that has become so popular in recent years
> be
> a factor? It
> is quite likely that these Round-up treated seeds are not used as
> heavly on
> Amish farms. These treated seeds result in less weeds, which
> should mean less
> insects & therefore less food for kestrels. Or could the insects
> that are
> present have toxins in them from the treated seeds? Would any of
> this
> hypotheses result in kestrels either dying or moving to other
> areas, such as Holmes
> Co.? Has anyone else noticed more kestrels in some counties that
> have less
> soybean/corn row crop production where Round-up Ready seed is
> more
> prevelant?
>
> Laura Dornan
> Louisville, Stark Co.
>
>
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> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
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______________________________________________________________________
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
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