March 28, 2019 we went to the Metzger Tract by Watermelon Pond (where the burrowing owls are) and found and photographed two boxes being used by kestrels, one with a male kestrel incubating eggs and the other with four eggs. On last Tuesday, we went to the other side of Watermelon Pond on the Division of Forestry land and found four boxes occupied with screech owls incubating eggs. The week before, we found eight boxes with kestrel eggs, most being incubated by female kestrels. We still have more boxes to check, but it looks pretty good so far, and we are learning some interesting things For instance, two boxes on utility poles in plain sight of each other and only perhaps 150 yards apart on the Shay property each had female kestrels in them incubating 5 eggs. Kestrels arn’t supposed to nest that close together. Attached are some of the photos we have been taking with our new pole camera.
Bob Simons
