Crooked River National Grassland Nest Box Trail
Mountain bluebird nest made of juniper bark | Trish Nevan
In a cooperative agreement with United States Forest Service (USFS), Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area installed three American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and six mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) nest boxes on Crooked River National Grassland near Crooked River Ranch in early 2018. All but one of these nest boxes are located on "The Peninsula."
To our delight, the Nest Box Trail's first nesting season saw two of the three American kestrel nest boxes successfully fledge kestrels. Ken Hashagen, with East Cascade Audubon Society, banded 5 kestrel nestlings, allowing researchers to look at kestrel movement patterns. He took a feather sample from 2 nestlings (one feather sample from each of the 2 occupied boxes) to analyze genetic relationships. His data was shared with American Kestrel Partnership (kestrel.peregrinefund.org), a project of The Peregrine Fund.
We found three of the six mountain bluebird nest boxes were used for nesting in 2018. Two of the nest boxes were used by mountain bluebirds and one box was used by ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens).
In 2019, we led two guided hikes on the Nest Box Trail in May and June respectively. We did not find any kestrel eggs this year. An ash-throated flycatcher did occupy one of the kestrel nest boxes. Mountain bluebirds and ash-throated flycatchers occupied three of the smaller nest boxes this year. Final nesting data will be summarized here by January 2020.
If you would like to help with National Grassland nest box monitoring in the upcoming nesting season, please contact Diane Randgaard at fansofdeschutes@gmail.com. Whether you are new to birding or a seasoned expert, it would be great to have your help with monitoring the National Grassland Nest Box Trail.
To our delight, the Nest Box Trail's first nesting season saw two of the three American kestrel nest boxes successfully fledge kestrels. Ken Hashagen, with East Cascade Audubon Society, banded 5 kestrel nestlings, allowing researchers to look at kestrel movement patterns. He took a feather sample from 2 nestlings (one feather sample from each of the 2 occupied boxes) to analyze genetic relationships. His data was shared with American Kestrel Partnership (kestrel.peregrinefund.org), a project of The Peregrine Fund.
We found three of the six mountain bluebird nest boxes were used for nesting in 2018. Two of the nest boxes were used by mountain bluebirds and one box was used by ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens).
In 2019, we led two guided hikes on the Nest Box Trail in May and June respectively. We did not find any kestrel eggs this year. An ash-throated flycatcher did occupy one of the kestrel nest boxes. Mountain bluebirds and ash-throated flycatchers occupied three of the smaller nest boxes this year. Final nesting data will be summarized here by January 2020.
If you would like to help with National Grassland nest box monitoring in the upcoming nesting season, please contact Diane Randgaard at fansofdeschutes@gmail.com. Whether you are new to birding or a seasoned expert, it would be great to have your help with monitoring the National Grassland Nest Box Trail.
FANs volunteer, Alice, installs American kestrel nest box on a juniper tree in January 2018. | Diane Randgaard
Female mountain bluebird keeps a close eye on humans counting her eggs in a nest box. | Trish Nevan
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Diane counts mountain bluebird eggs in nest box in May 2019. | Trish Nevan
Mountain bluebird eggs and day old hatchling discovered in nest box. | Marilynne Keyser
Hikers check nest boxes on the Crooked River National Grassland Nest Box Trail in May 2019. | Trish Nevan
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American kestrel eggs found in nest box 2018 nesting season | Diane Randgaard
Ken Hashagen shows young kestrel to group that observed banding in 2018 | Diane Randgaard
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