A week ago, Bend wildlife center Think Wild received a call about two nestling American Kestrels who had accidentally been transported with a bale of hay from Burns to a farm in Tumalo. Upon intake, Think Wild staff determined that these two nestlings were about 10 days old and in good body condition. Think Wild staff provided heat support and food to the young kestrels, and then immediately contacted the East Cascades Bird Alliance to try and identify potential foster parents.
ECBA manages a kestrel nest box monitoring project, in which they install and monitor American Kestrel nest boxes throughout Central Oregon. Since kestrels will readily foster orphaned nestlings as long as they are similar in age to their own young, Think Wild requested that ECBA check their boxes for active nests with young nestlings. On Monday, Think Wild volunteer Gary Lauder transported the two kestrel nestlings to Crooked River Ranch, where ECBA confirmed that a kestrel family had established a nest with three healthy nestlings….
Read the full article here on KTZV.com
Learn more about the Kestrel Nest Box Program
