PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: April 7, 2008
Contact: Iain MacLeod, 603-968-7194 x23 or iain.macleod@nhnature.org

The Chicks are in the Mailbox

Holderness, NH -- We all know the phrase: "The check is in the mail", but at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, they are hoping that a new project will have schools all over the state saying "The chicks are in the mailbox."

The Science Center has launched an exciting and innovative project this spring that blends natural science education with hands-on conservation and allows students throughout the state to become citizen scientists. The project - entitled the New Hampshire Kestrel Project involves the installation of specially-designed nesting boxes - made from steel mail boxes -- on school grounds, and the implementation of a student-led nest box monitoring scheme. The students will learn about Kestrel ecology through programs presented by a staff naturalist which includes a visit with one of the Science Center's non-releasable ambassador Kestrels. Once each numbered box is installed, the students will monitor the boxes and report their observations via a web-based reporting form.

The project is the brainchild of Science Center Executive Director Iain MacLeod. Last fall, while driving back from a raptor migration conference in Pennsylvania, MacLeod started hatching a scheme (no pun intended) that would combine his passion for raptors with a desire to create new and innovative programming at the Science Center. "One of the symposia of the conference was on the decline throughout the US of the American Kestrel - our smallest falcon, " said MacLeod. "The Kestrel's decline in the east has been linked to loss of grassland habitat, which affects both nesting territories and migratory stopover sites. Other possible factors include West Nile virus, predation by larger hawks, and competition with other birds for limited nesting sites," stated MacLeod.

MacLeod is also the Chairman of the Board of the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) which is the county's leading coordinator of raptor migration data gathering and analysis. Through a project known as the Raptor Population Index, HMANA and it's partner organizations have uncovered a dramatic decline in American Kestrels counted at migration monitoring sites throughout the east.

Kestrels are cavity nesters. Their ideal nesting site is in an old Pileated Woodpecker hole 20 feet up a dead tree in the middle of a large meadow. Like other cavity nesters it is possible to provide them with artificial nest sites in specially-designed nesting boxes. "Most boxes are made from 1"x10" pine boards with a three-inch entrance hole, placed on a pole or suitable tree. One of the talks in the Kestrel symposium discussed the downsides of wooden boxes. Without regular maintenance they rot and fall down, and they are easily torn or chewed open by raccoons and squirrels," said MacLeod

A couple years ago, MacLeod experimented with a Kestrel box design made from metal and plastic mailboxes - purchased at a local hardware store. He liked the design and filed the notion away until the right moment arrived. Now is that time.

The next step was to get some grant funding for the project. MacLeod submitted a proposal to the Jane B. Cook Charitable Trust which provided a $10,000 grant for the pilot year. A second grant for $5,000 was recently received from an anonymous foundation.

Now MacLeod needed a source of boxes. He contacted the largest manufacturer of mailboxes in the country - The Solar Group in Jacksonville, Mississippi. The project struck a chord with Solar and MacLeod's request for a donation of 100 mailboxes was quickly approved. "I asked for their basic model, but they sent their deluxe heavy duty steel model, which retails for more than $70 - nothing but the best for our Kestrels."

Jeremy Phillips, a Science Center Naturalist was appointed as Project Coordinator and started contacting schools throughout New Hampshire offering them the opportunity to sign up. "The response has been great. Jeremy is traveling all over the state -- from Londonderry to Lancaster, Stewartstown to Dover -- installing boxes and presenting programs," said MacLeod. "With luck we will have a few "chicks in the mailbox" by the summer.

To see photographs of Kestrels and the project, you can view the Photo Journal section on the Science Center website at www.nhnature.org.

About Squam Lakes Natural Science Center

The mission of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is to advance understanding of ecology by exploring New Hampshire's natural world. Through spectacular live animal exhibits, natural science education programs, and lake cruises, the Science Center has educated and enlightened visitors for forty years about the importance of our natural world. The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is located on Route 113 in Holderness, exit 24 off I-93, and is open daily for general admission from May 1 through November 1. For further information about the Center, call 603-968-7194 or visit www.nhnature.org.