DOVER, DE — Just as no problem is too big to solve, no falcon is too small to save. Delaware’s smallest falcon, the American kestrel, is fighting for survival. Teetering on the edge of extinction, with a population decline of more than 93% in the Mid-Atlantic, this mighty hunter is on Delaware’s endangered list. But new funding breathed a sigh of relief into the fierce, colorful falcon’s plight.
A substantial fund of $120,000 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Restoration Program now serves as a lifeline in Delaware’s conservation efforts for this endangered aerial predator. The state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) aims to use this financial aid to further its ongoing research and preservation initiatives.
Now, with the clock ticking, it’s the turn of these airborne hunters to fight back—with the help of a few radio transmitters. This year, the DNREC plans to enhance its monitoring efforts by placing nanotag radio transmitters on the American kestrels. Furthermore, the funding boost will facilitate the construction of 10 additional bird-monitoring radio towers. These additions to the international Motus Wildlife Tracking System’s network will augment avian research by detecting passing kestrels and other birds.
Jordan Brown, Raptor, Grassland and Forest Bird Biologist with DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, hailed the development as “an exciting new step” in kestrel research. The upcoming projects promise valuable insight into the birds’ movements, survival, and population dynamics, crucial for their survival.
American kestrels, despite their diminutive size, are formidable in-flight hunters, boasting the unique ability to hover while locked onto their prey. The decline in their population is theorized to be due to a range of factors, including habitat loss, pesticide accumulation, climate change, and new diseases.
Since 2014, the Delaware Kestrel Partnership—a collective effort of DNREC’s Brandywine Zoo and the Division of Fish and Wildlife—has monitored 79 nesting boxes installed throughout the state. These boxes have provided researchers invaluable data on the birds’ breeding cycle and offspring. The current nine Motus radio towers across Delaware have also captured essential data from passing tagged birds.
The first additional radio tower installation is scheduled for early February at the Delaware Nature Society’s Abbott’s Mill Nature Center near Milford, which has been part of the Delaware Kestrel Partnership since 2017 and hosts nine kestrel boxes.
Working towards restoring the balance, the Division of Fish and Wildlife plans to install two more towers on state wildlife areas before spring. The remaining installations will plug gaps in the current statewide tower network.
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, a global cooperative effort, uses automated radio telemetry to track multiple aerial species and share data with a worldwide community of researchers, educators, organizations, and citizens. This data is vital for the large-scale conservation of migratory animals. Delaware’s Motus towers will continue to play a part, contributing vital data on birds, bats, and insects to researchers worldwide.
As Delaware reaches for the skies in its efforts to save the American kestrel, the residents of the First State can take heart in the knowledge that every effort counts in the fight to preserve the little falcon. After all, the smallest creatures can make the biggest impact, and nothing speaks louder than the comeback of an endangered species.
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