Email message sent on behalf of Dick Tuttle:

I do want to applaud Kathi Hutton for her post mixing a little caution to
just putting up a nestbox.  Also, as an 18 year cavity nesting species
active conservationist (per Dick Tuttle), way too many people think all they
have to do is to put up a box and the birds will come and that is it.  It
takes an incredible amount of committment to monitor the nestbox AFTER
putting the box in a favorable habitat AND in a bird-safe manner and AND
keeping non-native species out so the native birds can be successful.

I have kestrel boxes I can donate to The Wilds if they have someone to
monitor the boxes.

Dick Tuttle was my mentor with cavity nesting species and as Jim McCormac
has noted; "Too bad Dick Tuttle, nestbox
builder extraordinaire, can't be cloned"!.  So contact Dick Tuttle and you
won't be disappointed with his advise.  He is an expert to establish
successful bluebird trails and Tree Swallow grids and his work with Osprey
platforms is first class and very successful.  Feel free to contact him
through the email address below.

Regards,
Darlene Sillick
Powell, Ohio

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 10:58 AM
To: Darlene Sillick
Subject: Kestrel Boxes - Tuttle


Darlene,
    Feel free to pass on this information.

    During 2006, Delaware County kestrel boxes fledged 57 falcons from 12
boxes after kestrels attempted 15 nests in 16 nest boxes. Dick Tuttle and
Dick
Phillips represent the Delaware County Bird Club and partner with
Consolidated
Electric Cooperative to hang the boxes from utility poles. We monitor the
boxes
every two weeks to record data, band nestlings, and throw out starling eggs
when kestrels have not claimed a box.
    On Saturday, January 27, 2007, we added boxes 17 and 18 to our 50-mile
long roadside trail. No. 17 is on the Delaware Wildlife Area and can be
easily
seen north from the Eagle Nest Viewing Lot.  We will be adding aluminum
flashing below our nest boxes since we have lost kestrel nests to climbing
raccoons
in the past.
    Since utilities use "cherry picker" buckets to service their lines and
rarely use pole climbers, some, but not all, utility companies are willing
to
grant permission to accommodate conservation projects.
    If you want plans for a good nest box that hangs from one roofing nail,
write me at: Dick Tuttle, 311 West Central Ave., Delaware, OH 43015. I am
also
open to leading a Kestrel management workshop, or to give a program as part
of
a larger meeting. I call myself an "active conservationist" and I am willing
to live up to my title since I am also a retired science teacher.
    Even though kestrels are much more secretive and "shy" compared to
bluebirds and Tree Swallows, it is still true (for kestrels) that "if you
build it,
they will nest."

    Raptor on,  Dick Tuttle
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.12/654 - Release Date: 1/27/2007
5:02 PM

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.12/654 - Release Date: 1/27/2007
5:02 PM

______________________________________________________________________

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/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]