Submitted by Ms. Jacky Chaplow on
Staff at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) headquarters have set up a webcam to monitor the behaviour of a breeding pair of kestrels nesting in Wallingford. The pair first attempted to breed at this site last year, but unfortunately the chicks died before fledging. This year the birds started visiting the nest box in March and the first egg was laid on 2nd May and a fifth on 11th May.
Kestrel numbers have declined in the UK since the 1970s and the species is included on the Amber List of species of conservation concern. The Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme, is investigating contaminant levels across a range of predatory bird species, including Kestrels, across Britain. We use top predators as a sentinels for wider environmental contamination and currently we monitor pollutants including lead (assessing an industry stewardship scheme related to a UNEP proposal to ban lead shot), mercury, and rodenticides.
You can follow how the CEH kestrels get on this year by going to: http://www.ceh.ac.uk/monitoring-kestrels