12 Dec Get hands on with falcon conservation in San Diego County
If you’ve ever spotted a small, colorful raptor perched on a wire along a country road, bobbing its head as it scans the grasslands below, you’ve likely seen an American kestrel. These beautiful falcons, no bigger than a dove, are specialized hunters that help keep rodent and insect populations in check. With their rusty plumage, striking black facial stripes, and the males’ dusty blue wings, they’re hard to miss.
But here’s the problem: kestrel populations are declining across North America.
Why Kestrels Need Our Help
The reasons for the decline are complex. Habitat loss, pesticides, and competition from invasive species for nesting sites all play a role. American kestrels are secondary cavity nesters, meaning they don’t build their own nests. They rely on natural cavities in dead trees or abandoned woodpecker holes. As these nesting sites disappear, so do the kestrels.
That’s where you come in.
The San Diego Kestrel Monitoring Project
Back in February, we announced our American Kestrel Monitoring Project to track breeding success throughout San Diego County. Now, as we head into the 2026 breeding season, we’re in the final push to get nest boxes installed and monitors trained.
Here’s what we’re doing:
- Installing nest boxes in appropriate kestrel habitat across the county
- Training volunteer monitors to check boxes regularly throughout breeding season
- Collecting data on nest activity, breeding success, and habitat use
- Supporting area biologists in the kestrel monitoring network with GPS tracking technology
The information we gather will help scientists understand what kestrels need to thrive here in San Diego and inform conservation efforts across the region.
We Need Landowners
Do you have property with open grassland, agricultural fields, or rural areas? Kestrels love edge habitat where fields meet scattered trees or fence lines. If your land fits this description, you could be the perfect host for a kestrel nest box.
What’s involved:
- We install the nest box on your property (typically on a pole or tree)
- You allow our volunteer monitors to check the box during breeding season (spring through early summer)
- You get to watch kestrels raise their young right on your land
It’s a small commitment with a big impact for conservation.
We Need Volunteer Monitors
Love birds? Want to be part of real conservation work? We’re recruiting citizen scientists to monitor nest boxes throughout the breeding season.
What monitors do:
- Visit assigned nest boxes on a regular schedule
- Record observations following our simple protocols
- Report nest activity, egg counts, and fledgling success
- Help us gather the data that paints the full picture of kestrel breeding in San Diego
No prior experience necessary. We’ll train you on everything you need to know.
Time to Act
Kestrels begin nesting as early as March, so we need to finalize nest box placements and recruit our monitoring team now. If you have land that might work, or if you’re interested in volunteering as a monitor, we want to hear from you.
Ready to help? Contact us at info@avian-behavior.org.
Together, we can give these incredible little falcons the nesting sites they need to succeed. Let’s make San Diego County a stronghold for American kestrels.
Want to support the kestrel project financially? We’re raising funds for GPS transmitters and data plans to track kestrel movements and survival. Every contribution helps us understand and protect these remarkable birds. You can make a contribution here.