DNREC Menu
American Kestrel populations in Delaware have declined. Once commonly seen perched along telephone wires and fence posts, this falcon is now a rare sight across our state. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife works to study and manage the state’s population of American Kestrels.
According to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, populations of American Kestrels have declined more than 93% in the Mid-Atlantic region over the last 50 years. These declines are what led DNREC to list the American Kestrel as state endangered in 2013 and as a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the 2015 Delaware Wildlife Action Plan.
The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and its partners in the Delaware Kestrel Partnership are working to study this raptor and find ways to reverse that decline. They offer volunteer opportunities for citizen scientists.
Read more about the American Kestrel, and the Partnership, in a story in Outdoor Delaware.
For more information, please contact Raptor, Grassland and Forest Bird Biologist Jordan Brown at Jordan.Brown@delaware.gov or 302-255-1960.
American Kestrels are found across North and South America. They prefer open habitats such as meadows, grasslands, open parkland, agricultural fields and even deserts. These habitats usually feature short ground vegetation with sparse woody vegetation, trees with cavities to nest in and plenty of perches.
Kestrels primarily eat small rodents (voles and mice) and insects (grasshoppers, cicadas, dragonflies and spiders). Occasionally, they also eat bats, small birds, snakes and lizards.
American Kestrels are often seen hunting from a perch in a “sit-and-wait” fashion or hovering over prey in a field before striking.
American Kestrels are obligate secondary cavity nesters, meaning they must use natural cavities or those created by woodpeckers to nest. They prefer cavities that do not have vegetation or branches covering the hole. Kestrels will not use nesting material and instead create a scrape or depression in the cavity floor.
In 2016, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife joined Delaware State Parks’ Brandywine Zoo to create what is now the Delaware Kestrel Partnership. The Partnership was created to study North America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel, to investigate their declining population.
To understand more about Delaware’s kestrel population, nest box monitoring and kestrel banding programs were created to gather long-term data on breeding kestrels.
The Delaware Kestrel Partnership has installed more than 70 nest boxes on public and private lands — in open areas such as meadows, grasslands, pastures and other agricultural fields.
The nest boxes are installed on 4×4 poles or on existing structures such as fencerows or barns. Ideally, kestrel nest boxes are not within 50 yards of a tree line, to reduce predator access, but are within 100 yards of perching opportunities such as power lines, fencerows and snags (dead trees).
The Partnership thanks all the landowners who allow use of their property for this research. A few of the largest landowner partners include Delaware State Parks, The Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Wild Lands, Mount Cuba Center, The University of Delaware and Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.
If you are interested in building a nest box for the program, hosting a nest box on your property, or if you know of a location that may provide good habitat, please contact Jordan.Brown@delaware.gov.
In 2025, the Delaware Kestrel Partnership monitored 88 nest boxes across the state from March through July. Volunteers observed American Kestrels at 24 of these nest boxes and breeding pairs at 14.
Nine nest boxes were used by kestrel pairs. A total of 42 eggs were laid, producing only 30 chicks. Two nests failed – both abandoned for unknown reasons.
A total of nine adult birds were captured for banding; however, three of those individuals (two females and a male) were re-captured, meaning they already had bands on their legs.
The first female was originally banded as an adult in 2023 at a Delaware Nature Society nest box (later nesting in Brandywine Creek State Park in 2024 and Winterthur Museum and Gardens in 2025). The second female was originally banded as a chick in 2023 in Hopewell, NJ (later nesting in Auburn Heights State Park in 2024 and Mt. Cuba Center in 2025).
The male was originally banded in 2024 as a chick in Marshallton, PA, making this his first breeding season.
A total of 33 chicks were banded in 2025. Our biologists not only banded all 30 of the hatched eggs but also three nestlings from Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research.
These nestlings, coming from three separate states (Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey), were rehabilitated and upon release were too young to be able to fly. Therefore, Tri-State reached out to the Delaware Kestrel Partnership to see if our nest boxes could “foster” these young.
Biologists matched the nestlings with three unique nest boxes according to their age. All 33 nestlings were accounted for during monitoring to check for fledging success of young.
Starting in 2024, staff placed Motus radio tags on American Kestrel adults and nestlings as part of a new study, tracking the movements of these birds year-round.
The tags rely on compatible receiving towers sending signals back to the researcher. As of May 2026, Delaware has 18 motus towers which provide near full coverage of the state.
You can keep tabs on where these, and future, tagged birds, have been using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System.
In 2024, the Delaware Kestrel Partnership monitored 81 nest boxes across the state and observed American Kestrels at 20 of these nest boxes and breeding pairs at 14. A total of 40 eggs were laid, producing only 21 chicks.
In 2023, the Partnership monitored 75 nest boxes and found American Kestrels at 21, with breeding pairs at eight. There were 34 eggs in 2023, producing 33 chicks.
In 2022, the Partnership monitored 69 nest boxes and found American Kestrels at 19, with breeding pairs at ten. There were 35 eggs in 2022, producing 27 chicks.
Reporting sightings of American Kestrels helps state biologists select better locations to install nest boxes for breeding birds.
Kestrels are often found perched on utility wires and fencerows where they have a better view to hunt. Look for their signature “bobbing tail” while they stabilize themselves on their perch.
If you see a kestrel, please log your sightings at eBird.org and include as many details as you can (sex, location, behavior, etc.) from your observations.
You can report both USGS aluminum leg bands and colored bands to the Banding Bird Lab.
To read an aluminum USGS band, you will need to physically have the bird in hand. If you find a dead kestrel with a leg band, please make every effort to report it. If you find an injured kestrel, please call Tri-State Bird Rescue at 302-737-9543. They will report the band.
To report a color band, select “Color Marker Only” on the Banding Bird Lab site and answer the questions on that site.
The colored bands on Delaware birds are placed on the bird’s right leg with a yellow marker. The color code is black. Please also enter the number.
Related Topics: American kestrels, conservation, fish and wildlife, raptors, wildlife
Delaware's Governor
State Agencies
Elected Officials
General Assembly
Delaware Courts
State Employees
Cities & Towns
Delaware State Code
State Regulations
Business First Steps
Phone Directory
Locations Directory
Public Meetings
Voting & Elections
Transparency
Health Insurance
Tax Center
Personal Income Tax
Privacy Policy
Weather & Travel
Contact Us
Corporations
Franchise Tax
Gross Receipts Tax
Withholding Tax
Delaware Topics
Help Center
Mobile Apps
E-mail / Text Alerts
Social Media
Built by the Government Information Center
©MMXXVI Delaware.gov
