Ayrshire Study

meadowhead-30-june-2015-72Gordon 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:

 

ParameterPeriodYearsMean annual sample sizeType of trendMean +SE
Breeding pairs1988-20152839.61 ± 1.04Decreasing25.5 (± 1.22)
Clutch size1988-20152817.57 ± 1.27Stable5.13 ± 0.04
Brood size1988-20152815.04 ± 1.05Stable
4.66 ± 0.05
Fledgling success1988-20152821.29 ± 1.21Linear increase0.86 ± 0.01
No. fledglings1988-20152817.89 ± 0.99Stable
4.12 ± 0.06