I remember those boxes during their heyday, too. It was pretty cool to see a kestrel or two by each one, and I think a lot of youngsters were raised in those boxes while they were productive. It seems likely that those massive reclaimed strip mine grasslands, such as at and around the Wilds, have a tremendous potential to become "source" sites for American Kestrels. The problem is, there is very little in the way of suitable cavities for nesting in these habitats. Incredibly, there is something on the order of 250,000 acres - an area the size of Hamilton County - of those Wilds-like grasslands scattered throughout southeastern Ohio. Can you imagine if kestrel boxes were scattered throughout these grasslands?! I imagine we'd see a big spike in breeding kestrel populations, at least locally. Too bad Dick Tuttle, nestbox builder extraordinaire, can't be cloned! Jim McCormac Columbus, Ohio -----Original Message----- From: Paul Haskins [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 9:44 AM To: Jim McCormac Cc: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] some thoughts on Kestrel populations Some very un-scientific observations. Several years ago on International Road in front of the Wilds there were several Kestrel nesting boxes installed, maybe 5 or 6. One winter every single one had a pair in them, except for one that was occupied by honey bees. Now most if not all of these boxes have rotted away. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]