Kane County Program Fighting to Save Kestrels
Members hope the system of nesting boxes will boost the population of the declining falcon.
Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Sign up for Outside+ today.
The population of kestrels, a small falcon, has been dropping across the continent in recent years–so a college intern decided to do something about it. Taylor Joray of Aurora spearheaded a program to install nesting boxes across Kane County forest preserves, helped by donations and volunteer monitors. Since the program’s start in 2012, 57 kestrels have fledged from the boxes, and seven sites are currently hosting the birds.