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• Hawks/Falcons
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  • Hawk Comparison Chart
  • American Kestrel
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Each spring and fall, large numbers of wildlife are injured or killed. In the spring, the young of the year have their first contacts with humans, our buildings, fences, utility cables and our vehicles. In the autumn, there is the fall dispersal as the family groups break up and spread out in preparation for winter's harsh conditions.

In the spring, young animals have the best chance of surviving if placed back in their nests. The old wive's tale about human scent and that the adults will abandon the young if they are touched by humans is incorrect. Put the young back in the nest and keep pets away from the area. The doe rabbit or deer only nurses the young at dusk and dawn because its milk is so rich. It will not return while you are watching.

The best policy is: If at all possible leave them be! Only if you are sure the parents have been killed, should you interfere. When you do interfere, you have greatly reduced the chances that the animal will ever return to wild and reach adulthood. Normally, about 70 percent of the wild birds of prey never live to their first birthday.

Animals that have been injured may be picked up and taken to a wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian. BE CAREFUL! Normally the only time that animal is touched by another species is when it is being killed to be eaten! Initially it may be in shock and captured/handled easily.

1. First cover the head/eyes with a towel or blanket so it can not see you.
2. Using heavy gloves, get control of the legs and wrap it in towels or the blanket. The feet or mouth will close on anything they come in contact with. Larger mammals or birds have grips that you can not pry off by yourself.
3. Place it in a box that will limit its movement and transport to medical help.

Conservation Service Projects

Wildlife from butterflies to red-tailed hawks have three basic needs: shelter, food and water. Planting flowers, shrubs and trees can provide both shelter and food for wildlife. Building brush piles and nest boxes will provide shelter for other kinds of animals.

Another way to help wildlife is to support wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians who care for wildlife. Donations of money and supplies help them care for injured and orphaned wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians do not receive financial support from local, state or federal agencies. In fact, rehabilitators have to pay yearly for the state licenses and federal permits required to care for wildlife.

Some items usually needed by rehabilitators and veterinarians are:

Household old bath towels or blankets plastic margarine containers (1/4 lb.) masking tape scissors light bulbs nails/screws/bolts rope	Medical gauze co-flex cotton rolls rubbing alcohol hydrogen peroxide
Cleaning supplies latex or rubber gloves paper towels Dawn dish washing soap bleach (Chlorox type) tissues tooth brushes Q-tips scrubbies brooms/mops dust pans	Food cat/dog/ferret food (dry & canned) bird seed cereals baby cereals suet cracked corn heavy ceramic pet food/water bowls

For sanitary purposes only new items or unused open items within the expiration date please. Many wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife educators are 501 (C) (3) not-for-profit organizations and your donations will be deductible on your income tax form.

Build A Nest Box

Print PDF of nest box directions

Many species of raptors that live in New York State have declined in numbers because of habitat loss. Within the habitat that remains, cavity-nesting raptors cannot find suitable places to raise their young.

Even when hunting habitat and prey are available, the lack of a nest site can be the major reason for the non-productivity of a hawk or owl species in a given area. Old, dead trees, which provide the best natural sites for cavity-nesters, are often the first to be cut by landowners.

With the recent emphasis on wood burning stoves, the accelerated loss of these sites could impact all hole-nesting species of birds. Whenever possible, we should try to preserve existing nest sites.

Where sites do not presently exist, or have been destroyed, furnishing artificial nest sites is an excellent method for maintaining, or even increasing populations. Hole nesting raptors such as Screech Owls and American Kestrels do not build nests of their own. They rely on natural sites or those created by other birds or animals, including humans.

When nest boxes are properly constructed and erected these raptors will readily inhabit the "bird house" and may use it year after year. Attracting raptors is desirable not only for their ability to control rodents and insects, but because they are interesting species to have close by for observation.

The number of boxes that can be placed in a given area is limited only by how many you are willing to build. Most raptors will defend their breeding territory and not allow others of their species to occupy their territory. The size of the area they defend varies depending on the species of raptor, available prey and other factors. Within reason, the more boxes provided, the better the chances of some being found and used.

Kestrels are residents of New York State throughout the year although some migrate. Screech Owls are generally non-migratory and remain in the same areas all their lives. The habitat in which both birds live is similar and the nest boxes made for them are identical. Kestrels are birds of open terrain, seldom entering woods. They hunt fields, meadows, roadsides and other open areas. They are regularly seen perched atop utility poles and wires or hovering in mid-air, searching the ground below for prey.

Kestrel nest boxes should be placed in open areas. Good locations are: trees along the edge of a woodlot, a lone tree in a field, on a barn or other farm building, or mounted on a pole. Constructing your own pole offers the advantage of being able to place the nest box anywhere. Open fields and meadows afford the hawk proper habitat to hunt mice, moles and their summer favorites - grasshoppers. Boxes should be placed 12 to 20 feet above the ground. When using a pole for erection, a metal sleeve 30 inches wide, placed several feet above the ground, should be wrapped around it and nailed in place to keep mammal predators from climbing to the nest box.

Screech owls live in open woodland terrain. They are found not only in open country, but in lightly wooded areas, city and rural parks, small woodlots and a particular favorite - apple orchards.

One 8-foot
1-inch by 10-inch plank