Nest Boxes Increased Presence of American Kestrels in a Blueberry Production Region Despite Low Box Occupancy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Landscape enhancements such as nest boxes can attract birds to agricultural areas, where they can provide ecosystem services such as pest reduction through their consumption of crop pests. However, there are large gaps in knowledge about how birds respond to enhancements. From 2014 to 2018 we installed American Kestrel (Falco sparverius; hereafter kestrel) nest boxes in a blueberry production region in western Michigan. From 2015 to 2018 we conducted surveys to monitor kestrel presence along 1.6-km transect segments (hereafter, sites) to estimate kestrel occupancy in areas with and without boxes. We also monitored box occupancy and reproductive success. Kestrel presence increased over time in the study area although there was some uncertainty in this trend. The presence of a box at a site did not increase kestrel presence there, but boxes in neighboring sites did increase presence. This indicated that enriching an area with boxes increases kestrel presence. Box occupancy rates were positively influenced by occupancy of the same box the previous year. Percent successful nests ranged from 75 to 100 percent, and mean number of fledglings produced was approximately 4 per nest box. Our results showed that nest boxes can serve as effective landscape enhancements to attract kestrels to agricultural landscapes, but the degree to which kestrels occupy boxes can vary geographically. Local-scale studies can provide information about the potential benefits and challenges of using nest boxes as a pest management tool.