Bruce Peterjohn and Elaine Nakash

USGS Bird Banding Laboratory

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Laurel, MD

BIRD BANDING AND BAND ENCOUNTER DATA FOR AMERICAN KESTRELS

10,700

5,965

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1960

1963

1966

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

2008

2011

2014

American Kestrel bandings by year (1960-2016) 325,000 records

AGE #bandings AHY 74,114 ASY 3,349 ATY 15 HY 80,566 L 137,255 SY 6,868 TY 19 U 23,712

AMERICAN KESTREL BANDING RECORDS BY AGE CLASS

AMERICAN KESTREL BANDING RECORDS BY AGE CLASS

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009 2010-2016

Nestlings vs. other ages

Local all other ages

1,255

737 3,271 9,288

112 3,215

4,838

4,407 3,973 7,624

34,163

21,462 13,812

14,355

19,293

18,508

2,223 2,490

761 402

1,821

996

2,387

2,621

1,576 677

191

15,373

13,280

1,658

140

575 362 236 1,808

1,544 1,053 1,446

888

4,636

5,893

9,728

693 446

17

19

14,784 561

8,219 NH 840 VT 1,608 MA 9,110 RI 175 CT 6,853 NJ 28,350 DE 527 MD 5,763 DC 14

BBL banding records for American Kestrels by state/province

10-minute blocks with 10+ American Kestrels banded

3,686 (1981-2015) Hawk Mountain, PA

1,525 (1974-2016) Hawk Ridge , MN

2,192 (1957-2016) Linwood Springs, WI

24,546 (1972-2015) Hawk Cliff, ON

1,529 (1976-2016) Flying M Ranch, CA

10,170 (1965-2016) Cape May, NJ

1,339 (1984-2015) Golden Gate/Marin, CA

3,834 (1981-2016) Hawkwatch, Int., NV

5,309 (1987-2015) Boise State Univ., ID

3,653 (1983-2002) Bridgeport, WA

4,630 (1981-2015)

Permits banding 1000+ American Kestrels

Winter (Dec.-Feb.) banding records for American Kestrels

N = 38,189 banded

N = 28,228 banded

Spring (March-May) banding records for American Kestrels

Summer (June-Aug.) banding records for American Kestrels

N = 179,269 banded

N = 80,363 banded

Fall (Sept.- Nov.) banding records for American Kestrels

SUMMARY OF BBL BANDING RECORDS FOR AMERICAN KESTRELS

• Large dataset available to inform conservation • Explore potential to estimate survivorship from

banded “local” kestrels in nest boxes • What information can be gleaned from migration

banding? • Data gaps: Northern Canada/Alaska, Great Plains,

southeast US • Winter banding, especially in southern USA

185

020406080

100120140160180200

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

American Kestrel encounters by year (1960-2016)

5,300 records

102

17

65

65

103 111

82

91

121

51 122

90

172

99

62

76

46

17 20

289

414 318

300

232

411

278

223

10 14

6

6

9

6

4 2

24

33

21

31 24

33

24 23 47

2

10

21

23 40

17

NH 31 VT 27 MA 181 RI 11 CT 78 NJ 334 DE 32 MD 176 DC 1

BBL encounter records for American Kestrel by state/province

N = 144

American Kestrels banded in winter and recovered in summer

N = 749

American Kestrels banded in summer and recovered in winter

American Kestrels banded in summer and recovered in winter

American Kestrels banded in summer and recovered in winter

Summer banded American Kestrels, all encounters

SUMMARY OF BBL ENCOUNTER RECORDS FOR AMERICAN KESTRELS

• Suggests 4 major populations across North America • Migratory and resident components to each • Additional analyses may reveal additional

population structure • Southeastern US is important wintering area for

populations east of Rockies • Many grassland birds declining in this region

• Mexico is important wintering area for western population