May EcoTalk: The American Kestrel - Our Smallest Falcon

Join Five Rivers MetroParks for its monthly EcoTalk. This month we explore the American Kestrel. Admission is free; but registration is required: https://www.metroparks.org/programs-events-finder/?program_number=S244&api=programs&type=program

The American Kestrel is common in Ohio, if you know where to look. A deft winged mouse trap, this species generally thrives in more open habitat where it can find small rodents, small birds, and insects. This presentation will focus on both the natural history of kestrels and the long term monitoring of their use of nest boxes along highway corridors in southeast Ohio.

DONALD P. ALTHOFF is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Professor Emeritus of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Rio Grande. He earned his B.S. in wildlife management from the Ohio State University, M.S. in Wildlife Sciences from the University of Nebraska, and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Pennsylvania State University. He has conducted research in forest and grassland ecosystems with the focus on a variety of species ranging for vertebrates and plants to nematodes. One of his main endeavors since the mid-1990s has been southern flying squirrel in southeast Ohio. That effort is a component of the Rio EcoMonitoring Project that provides hands-on learning opportunities for University of Rio Grande undergraduates participating in inventory and monitoring of local flora and fauna. Since stepping down as a full-time faculty in 2019 he continues to pursue additional long-term monitoring of bluebirds, tree swallows, prothonotary warblers, kestrels productivity, chronology of chlorophyll content and leaf-out/drop of selected hardwoods, and seasonal variation of treefrog occupation of PVC pipe refugia.

You may also like the following events from Five Rivers MetroParks:

• This Friday, 16th May, 07:00 am, Bike to Work Day Pancake Breakfast in Dayton
• This Saturday, 17th May, 10:00 am, Pollinator Habitat Heroes in West Carrollton
• This month, 30th May, 06:00 pm, Passport to MetroParks in Dayton