A Bird Conservation Update: Spring 2024

Kestrel Conservation

A huge thank you to volunteers from M&T Bank (pictured) and Antioch University New England for helping to build new kestrel nest boxes this spring! (photo © Phil Brown)

Working with landowners across the Monadnock Region, Harris Center staff, interns, and volunteers expanded our American Kestrel conservation program this spring by nearly doubling the number of nest boxes associated with this project. Lead volunteer Mark Ellingwood again hosted nest box construction days in his Antrim barn, this year with new volunteer crews from M&T Bank and Antioch University New England.  In addition, our Bird Conservation Director, Phil Brown, and Bird Conservation Intern, Chris Liazos, have installed nearly 20 new boxes from Walpole to Wilton, Hillsborough to Harrisville.

Placing nest boxes in appropriate landscapes – large fields in high-ranking kestrel habitat, as mapped by former Bird Conservation Intern, Will Stollsteimer – is an important step toward bolstering local populations of this now-uncommon species. To learn more about this charismatic falcon — including how you can help in their recovery — check out this story map created by Will, with support from the Harris Center.

Supporting Wood Ducks

In partnership with the Monadnock Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, Harris Center staff also installed 10 Wood Duck nest boxes on SuperSanctuary lands in Hancock, Antrim, and Harrisville this spring. Located along the edges of open-water wetlands, some of them have already been investigated by hopeful Wood Ducks! Harris Center staff will monitor and maintain these boxes annually to track their use by Wood Ducks and other waterfowl, and to make sure they stay in tip-top condition.

American Goshawk Monitoring

American Goshawks are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in New Hampshire. Keen-eyed observers will note that our goshawks typically have red eyes as adults. As it turns out, photos of our subspecies are tough to come by! This picture was taken in Europe. (photo © Aleksey Gulinavov via the Flickr Creative Commons)

Thanks to field surveys performed by Chris Liazos and the use of automated recording units, we have detected American Goshawks in at least two breeding territories in the SuperSanctuary this spring. American Goshawks have experienced a precipitous decline in the southern parts of their breeding range, and state, federal, and local partners are planning to further study this Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The Harris Center’s monitoring work may figure prominently in these regional research efforts. If you know of a nesting goshawk in the Monadnock Region and want to assist with this study, please contact Phil Brown by email.

GPS transmitter data revealed that “Skatutakee” spent this past winter in southeastern Peru, approx. 300 km. north of where she wintered last year in Bolivia. Click on the image for a larger view of the map.
(map © Rebecca McCabe / Hawk Mountain)

Broad-winged Hawk Tracking

This month, Broad-winged Hawks will be returning to the Monadnock Region from their wintering grounds in South America. Early spring tracking data from “Skatutakee” – the female hawk who nested in Dublin the last two summers – shows that she spent the winter in Peru and is currently working her way north.

This multi-year Harris Center project, in partnership with Hawk Mountain, has documented 21 Broad-winged Hawk nests in and around the SuperSanctuary over the past three years, and resulted in the tagging of five adult birds with satellite or cellular transmitters. This study has yielded key information about the species’ migrations and wintering areas, and has led to a better understanding of how to conserve this migratory raptor. Harris Center staff will be out monitoring territories and tracking tagged birds once again this spring and summer.

Follow the northbound migration of “our” birds this spring on Hawk Mountain’s live migration map.

A New Wood Thrush Project

Wood Thrushes have experienced a 59% population decline since 1970, especially in the Northeastern part of their breeding range. This new study hopes to reverse the trend. (photo © Larry Hubble via the Flickr Creative Commons)

Looking ahead, the Harris Center is seeking volunteer birders proficient in identifying birds by sound for a new Wood Thrush study, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NH Audubon, and Antioch University New England.

As part of a larger regional research effort, Antioch professor and bird bander Mike Akresh plans to affix nanotransmitters to up to five Wood Thrushes near the Harris Center’s Motus station this spring, to better understand the songbird’s pre-migratory behavior, as well as migratory connections, routes, timing, and survival — with the ultimate goal of informing future conservation and management actions for this Species of Greatest Conservation Need.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Phil Brown by email.

Craig Altobello’s marquetry exhibit, Astonishing Moments in Nearby Nature, runs through April 30 at the Peterborough Town Library. (art © Craig Altobello)

Art for the Birds

Last but not least, the Harris Center’s bird conservation work is featured in a current exhibit at the Peterborough Town Library by local marquetry artist, Craig Altobello.

Craig has created gorgeous wooden works of art featuring American Kestrel, Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Wood Thrush, among other species — and generously offered to contribute 15% of all sales from this exhibit to support the Harris Center’s bird conservation projects. The exhibit is open through April 30 in the Peterborough Town Library Gallery.