Kestrel Banding Demo at Hawthorne Valley Farm

Come join Berkshire Bird Observatory (BBO) at Hawthorne Valley on Friday, July 11 at 2pm to witness baby falcons in the hand! BBO will give a brief presentation on their efforts to recover Kestrel populations in the Berkshire Taconic region, followed by a banding demonstration. You won’t want to miss this unique opportunity.

Hawthorne Valley Farm is proud to collaborate with the Berkshire Bird Observatory (BBO) in support of the American Kestrel—North America’s smallest falcon, and a species that has sadly seen steep population declines across New England.

RSVP required — we are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be added to the waitlist, please complete this form here and we’ll let you know if space opens up.

Meet at the Farm Store Pavilion at 2pm
We’ll walk out to the field together for this unique opportunity to observe the banding process and learn about the conservation efforts supporting this spectacular little raptor.

About the American Kestrel Nest Box Project

The BBO has installed nest boxes across southern Berkshire County and bordering counties in New York in partnership with organic farmers, local nonprofits, community members, and town and state governments–including Hawthorne Valley Farm! These boxes provide essential nesting sites for cavity-nesting birds like the Kestrel, which are increasingly excluded from suitable habitats due to the loss of natural structures like dead trees.

Why does this matter? The data collected from banding is shared with scientists at The Peregrine Fund and contributes to continent-wide studies on Kestrel population trends. The more boxes—and the more data—we can collect, the better equipped we’ll be to understand and reverse the decline of this iconic bird.

We hope you’ll join us!

To learn more about the project and the work of The Berkshire Bird Observatory, visit their website.