American Kestrel©Kelli O’Neill
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The public is invited to join Yolo Audubon and its members for the monthly general meeting on January 17, 2024. The meeting is free and is held at the Davis Senior Center at 646 A Street in Davis. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and runs until 8:50 p.m. Folks are welcome to arrive at 7:00 p.m. for a pre-meeting gathering with other attendees.
This meeting will mark Yolo Audubon’s first attempt to allow online participants to join the in-person attendees via Zoom, i.e., a Zoom Hybrid meeting. While we have had a successful practice session, there is no guarantee for a problem-free event on the 17th. Thank you for your understanding! Here is the Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqcu6orD8qHty0IqvwaEjI6z3dvjIiAyUa“
The speakers are Kevin Hunting of the American Kestrel Parentship, and John McNerney, City of Davis Wildlife Resource Specialist, and they will talk about a project involving American Kestrels.
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is California’s smallest and previously most abundant falcon species. Kestrel populations have been in decline for several decades in California, the west, and nationally. The reasons for this decline are varied and range from exceptional predation rates to pesticide poisoning. In 2023, we created and launched an American Kestrel nest box program with the goals of supporting local and regional kestrel populations, gathering data for the international American Kestrel Partnership effort, and learning more about how Kestrels use the landscape. Kevin & John will discuss the program including deploying and managing nest boxes, first year successes and lessons learned, and how this program is part of a larger national and international American Kestrel research and conservation effort.
This event is free, and you do not need to be a member of Yolo Audubon to attend. If you would like to join, visit https://yoloaudubon.org/join-renew-donate. If you only want to receive the monthly newsletter, visit https://yoloaudubon.org/yolo-audubon-newsletter.
SPEAKER BIO
Kevin Hunting is retired after a career with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Resources Agency as a biologist, administrator, and policy lead. He has worked in wildlife management, conservation planning, and resource assessment, for over 30 years. He has authored documents related to bird conservation for Partners-in-Flight, California Bird Species of Special Concern, and technical assessments for several bird species. He is active in wildlife policy efforts including development of the California 30X30 Biodiversity Conservation framework and most recently led an effort to update the Wildlife Conservation Board’s Strategic Plan and was the primary author of the document. Kevin spends his free time birding and enjoying the outdoors.
John McNerney is the staff wildlife biologist for the City of Davis. He has over 25 years of experience in habitat conservation, planning and restoration, wildlife management, CEQA review, human v. wildlife conflict resolution, and natural resource interpretation. His professional interests include birds-of-prey, human and wildlife relationships, and wetlands and grasslands conservation, restoration and management.