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. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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] > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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] > > > ______________________________________________________________________ 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]