American Kestrel - Status and Conservation

Status and Conservation

The American Kestrel is likely the most abundant falcon in North America, although its total population is difficult to quantify, as local populations can change quickly due to resource availability. Count data from the USGS Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) indicate that the North American breeding population is experiencing long-term and gradual but sustained declines, with some regions, such as New England and coastal California, exhibiting more rapid declines. Count data from raptor migration corridors also indicate regional population declines and largely corroborate BBS data. The North American population has been estimated at 1.2 million pairs, with the Central and South American populations being as large. A smaller estimate is 236,000 birds wintering in North America. A population increase occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries, probably due to deforestation for agriculture. The resulting pastures provided an ideal habitat for kestrels.

The southeastern U.S. subspecies (Falco sparverius paulus) has declined 82% since 1940 due to a decrease in nest site availability. This decline is a result of Longleaf Pines being cleared from agricultural fields. Despite this, the American Kestrel is classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The Peregrine Fund, a leading non-profit organization advancing research and conservation of birds of prey worldwide, launched the American Kestrel Partnership in 2012. The American Kestrel Partnership developed and maintains a web-based network for citizen and professional scientists to enter, manage, and consolidate data from kestrel nestbox monitoring programs in the Western Hemisphere. The database is being used by researchers to model and understand relationships between kestrel nesting parameters (e.g., phenology, occupancy, survival, productivity, and nestling weight and exposure to environmental toxins) and environmental factors, such as land use, landscape composition and configuration, climate conditions (e.g., drought), and point sources of environmental toxins. The American Kestrel Partnership's website, with support from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, features two live, streaming video feeds from a kestrel nestbox and breeding pair on The Peregrine Fund's campus in Boise, Idaho.