Providing new homes was on the Agenda at South West Peregrine; this week the group have been installing a Kestrel box in rural Cornwall, hoping to offer a new home to another of our struggling Birds of Prey. Although we still see good numbers of coastal Kestrel, it is believed that they could be declining and no one reason at the moment has been identified as cause for the concern. So as part of National Nest box week the volunteers got in touch with the Hawk and Owl Trust’s Adopt a Box scheme and got on with siting this box (No. 10480). Whoever takes advantage of this home will have a good variety of habitats from which it can provide for any potential family. Open Farmland, Scrubland and Wooded areas all adjourn the chosen location. We look forward to seeing the results. The group are planning to also site Barn Owl and Tawny Owl boxes along with a number of baskets to replicate stick nests. Each will be monitored and allow the group to gain a better understanding of other species of Birds of Prey and their habitat needs. The group are also working with local wildlife camera company Handykam using covert video technology to bring a closer insight into the lives of our Birds of Prey.
South West Peregrine
South West Peregrine 
February 23, 2015 at 6:53 am
Hi Guys.Nice job.I hope you remembered to put substrate in the box.It’s amazing how many people forget.Dave
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February 23, 2015 at 11:06 am
Yes David, the Hawk and Owl provided a substrate (rough wood chippings) along with the box and fixings. I would be interested in knowing the preferred substrate material, as I was thinking of adding some grit and should it be cleaned next winter and replaced or left alone from here on in?
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February 28, 2015 at 12:04 pm
On Friday 27th of February we fitted an observation camera to the box, this will allow us to monitor any potential occupant without causing any disturbance to them. The camera can be linked up to a Battery pack Digital recording device which we obtained from Handykam (Redruth, Cornwall) – this will us to record any breeding activity which may take place over the coming seasons.
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