Gordon Riddle has been monitoring Kestrel in a discrete area bordering Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway since 1972.

Gordon monitors a range of natural sites, including tree cavities, old crow nests, cliffs and quarries in addition to a series of nest boxes. Each year, he visits 30-35 territories. The study area comprises a broad range of habitats, the upland areas comprising a mixture of rough pasture grazed by sheep, interspersed with small shelter belts, and commercial forestry plantations, while the lowland area is a mixture of coastal estate and mixed farmland.

 

Visit Gordon’s website here.

 

Study area trends

Please click below to see the trends for Common Kestrel within the Ayrshire Study:

 

Parameter	Period	Years	Mean annual sample size	Type of trend	Mean +SE
Breeding pairs	1988-2015	28	39.61 ± 1.04	Decreasing	25.5 (± 1.22)
Clutch size	1988-2015	28	17.57 ± 1.27	Stable	5.13 ± 0.04
Brood size	1988-2015	28	15.04 ± 1.05	Stable	4.66 ± 0.05
Fledgling success	1988-2015	28	21.29 ± 1.21	Linear increase	0.86 ± 0.01
No. fledglings	1988-2015	28	17.89 ± 0.99	Stable	4.12 ± 0.06