Resources for Kestrel Nest Box Monitoring & Banding Volunteers

Thank you so much for volunteering for the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance Kestrel Nest Box Monitoring & Banding Program! We are grateful for your time, energy, and enthusiasm for this work, and kestrels are benefiting greatly from it!

Below are resources that will be useful for you in your volunteering efforts. Please contact Brand (brandsmith2@charter.net ) or Brenna (bmarsicek@swibirds.org or 608-255-2473) with any questions.

Download our construction guide for building and installing your own kestrel nest box! Note that if you are unable to monitor the box for invasive species, the box should not be put up or should be removed.

Important/useful Links

Protocol & Training:

• SoWBA Kestrel Monitoring Manual (2025): download PDF here

• Duties of an American Kestrel Nest Box Monitor (2025): download PDF or Word document here

• Recording of the volunteer training/refresher held on Jan. 11, 2025: https://youtu.be/oa-xBSqBfz4

• PDF of training presentation by Brand Smith & Brenna Marsicek: download PDF here

• Items to bring with you each time you check your box: download PDF here

Data:

• Data ONLINE submission form: swibirds.org/kestrel-data

• Paper data sheet to bring with to your nestbox (for your use only, you do not need to give Brand the datasheet): download PDF here or Word document here

Other resources:

• Other nest box users guide (are they good or bad species, and should we clean them out or not): download PDF here

• Full PDF of American Kestrel Nestlings booklet to help you guestimate the age of the chicks in your nest box: access PDF here or purchase the booklet here.

• Vehicle sign to put in your dashboard while you’re out at your nest box(es): download PDF here

• Sample timetable of kestrel nesting and banding: download PDF here

Looking in your box

• Ways to look into your box:

  • Cell phone or GoPro attached to an L-shaped pole made of PVC or other extender (make sure the cell phone or GoPro is less than 3” wide to fit in the hole). See a photo of Brand’s home-made pole here. You can attach a cell phone to the horizontal piece with a clip, velcro, or duct tape. Make the horizontal piece 10” long to reach the back of the nestbox.

  • Spy-cam suggestions:

    • Depstech Wireless Endoscope (approx. $37 - takes photo and video, requires phone app to use)

    • Depstech Wireless Endoscope (approximately $40 - does not take video, requires phone app to use)

    • Depstech Dual Lens Endoscope (approximately $70 - takes photo and video, does not require phone app to use)

    • Telescopic Camera with Light and Gooseneck Borescope (approximately $120 - comes pre-made and doesn’t require connecting to a phone app to use)

  • Tips and Tricks by American Kestrel Partnership

  • Monitoring Large Nest Boxes using a pole-mounted digital camera handout

• Video on how to check your box using a spy-cam: https://youtu.be/4-XXf1t017c

• Video on how to check your box using a phone camera: https://youtu.be/F6CqBZrWcGo

• Nest box inhabitants — the good, the bad, and the just fine: download here (PDF)

Aging the Kestrel Nestlings:

• Purchase the booklet American Kestrel Nestlings by James Klucsarits and Joshua Rusbuldt: $11 on Amazon

• Full PDF of American Kestrel Nestlings by James Klucsarits and Joshua Rusbuldt: access PDF here

• Chicks days 8-14, from American Kestrel Nestlings by James Klucsarits and Joshua Rusbuldt, 2007: download here (PDF)

• Chicks days 15-22, from the same Nestlings booklet: download here (PDF)

• Chicks days 23-31, from the same Nestlings booklet: download here (PDF)

• Resource by Anna Fasoli, 2012: download here (word doc)

Cupping your Box

• Definition: “Cupping your box” means you place a SOLO cup into the opening to deter species like European Starlings from entering and nesting. Starlings begin nesting earlier in the season, so by blocking their entry early in the season we can limit their nesting. The cup is later removed in time for kestrels’ arrival.

• Procedure and why to cup your box: download here (word doc)

• Video on how to place the cup: https://youtu.be/2nK4WlIsUmE

• Video on how to remove the cup: https://youtu.be/569Tra2BZ1E

Additional Resources

• Our nest box program works closely with the Central Wisconsin Kestrel Research project, based out of Stevens Point. They're a wealth of knowledge and are doing incredible work to understand and conserve these tiny falcons! Their staff work with our volunteers and the BBA (formerly Madison Audubon) staff to band kestrels from our nest boxes each summer (as shown in this photo).

• The American Kestrel Partnership, part of the Peregrine Fund, is a nation-wide conservation program to support kestrels. Many kestrels which nest in our boxes are banded and a tiny feather sample is sent to the AKP to study kestrel genetics. 

Banner photo by Patrick Ready