Protecting North America's Smallest Falcon

American Kestrel populations have declined by over 50% across North America in recent decades. We are dedicated to research, habitat restoration, rehabilitation, and nest box monitoring to ensure their future.

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The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

Why They Need Our Help

The American Kestrel is North America's smallest and most charismatic falcon. Despite their adaptability to grasslands, farmlands, and suburban areas, long-term monitoring data shows steady population declines across most of their range.

Threats include loss of nesting cavities, pesticide exposure reducing their primary prey (insects and small rodents), climate shifts, and habitat degradation.

Quick Facts

Size: Roughly the size of a Robin (8.5–12 inches).
Diet: Grasshoppers, dragonflies, cicadas, mice, and voles (opportunistic hunters).
Nesting: Cavity nesters that rely on natural tree hollows or man-made nest boxes.
Hunting Style: Famous for hovering in mid-air ("windhovering") while hunting for prey.

Adult Male American Kestrel with slate-blue wings and rufous back

Adult Male Male

Recognizable by distinctive slate-blue wings, vibrant rufous back, and a single bold black subterminal band across the tail.

Female American Kestrel perched showing rufous barred wings and streaked chest

Adult Female Female

Slightly larger than males, females feature warm rufous wings barred with dark brown and vertical streaking across the breast.

American Kestrel fledglings perched together in a row

Young Fledglings Juvenile

Clutch fledglings emerging from nest boxes, exhibiting downy feathers and developing adult flight plumage under monitoring.

Our Key Initiatives

Combining scientific research, active fieldwork, and community wildlife rehabilitation across Eastern Pennsylvania.

Mother American Kestrel feeding young at a wooden nest box

Nest Monitoring

Nest Box Network

We build, install, and monitor specialized nest boxes to replace lost natural cavity habitats across agricultural and grassland sites in Eastern Pennsylvania.

American Kestrel in windhovering flight over open grasslands

Field Research

Banding & Tracking

Partnering with certified researchers and volunteers to band nestlings and track migration patterns, hunting territories, and survival rates.

American Kestrel hunting with prey in open meadow habitat

Prey & Habitat

Habitat Restoration

Working with local farmers and landowners to promote pesticide-free and rodenticide-free habitats and manage open grasslands necessary for hunting.

Rehabilitated American Kestrel perched during educational outreach

Rehabilitation

Working with certified wildlife rehabilitators in Eastern Pennsylvania to provide care and medical treatment for injured, sick, and orphaned kestrels.