This webinar is part of the Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education series.  The American Kestrel is North America's smallest falcon species and enjoyable to observe.  According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the kestrel population nationwide decreased 47% from 1966 to 2011.  Habitat degradation, pesticides, and a lack of suitable nesting cavities are all contributing factors.  As with bluebirds, nest box programs have proven to be effective in bolstering populations, and to this end the Virginia Society of Ornithology has established the American Kestrel Nest Box Project. This webinar discusses the Kestrel Nest Box Project in Virginia and how volunteers and landowners can help.

Presenter: Dan Bieker is an adjunct professor at Piedmont VA Community College where he teaches Field Ornithology and Appalachian Ecology.  He also leads the 4-H Junior Naturalist program in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area, co-sponsored by VA Cooperative Extension and the Ivy Creek Foundation.  For over thirty years he has been involved with kestrel research and nest boxes, and directs the Virginia Society of Ornithology's Kestrel Nest Box Project.