CFO Grantees’ Research Recently Published in The Journal of Raptor Research

Kirstin R. Chapman and Jennifer S. Redmond, CFO members and grantees of the CFO grant program, recently had their paper published in The Journal of Raptor Research, documenting the first known observation in Colorado of a second clutch laid by a confirmed mated pair of American Kestrels, following a successful first brood. The press release announcing this research is below:

For the first time in Colorado, researchers document a confirmed second clutch laid by American Kestrels following a successful first brood. In North America, this occurrence in wild American Kestrels has only been reported twice in the literature. This Colorado case marks the third reported occurrence. Discovery of the second clutch was made in a suburban backyard outside Denver, where a kestrel nest box equipped with a 24/7 infrared camera provided rare access to post-fledging behaviors.

The banded adult female laid a second clutch of eggs just 16 days after her first brood of five nestlings fledged. The adult male continued provisioning food for the female and their five fledglings, while she resumed incubation duties. Remarkably, one of the male fledglings entered the nest box and rolled and incubated the eggs, a form of helping behavior not previously reported in kestrels. Although the second clutch did not hatch, this occurrence raises new questions about breeding behaviors and nest box monitoring protocols.

The authors recommend extending nest box monitoring one month past fledging to better document second clutches. This is especially important if breeding seasons shift in response to climate change, increasing the possibility of second nesting attempts.

Evidence of a Second Clutch for American Kestrels in Colorado, USA: Behavioral Observations and Implications for Nest Box Monitoring is available at: https://meridian.allenpress.com/rapt/article-abstract/59/3/1/506724/Evidence-of-a-Second-Clutch-for-American-Kestrels

About the journal: The Journal of Raptor Research is a peer-reviewed, international journal dedicated to the dissemination of information about birds of prey, and is the official publication of the Raptor Research Foundation.

The Arvada Kestrel Project nest box program was made possible by the generous support of the CFO Grant Committee.