Declines in nesting and foraging habitat in Florida have had
negative impacts on the Southeastern American Kestrel.
The Southeastern American Kestrel is listed as threatened in
Florida due to an overall decline in nesting and foraging habitat,
specifically the removal of isolated trees from agricultural
fields, residential development, conversion of open pinelands to
agriculture, and the modification of pine forest understory
vegetation resulting from fire suppression. Understory is the
structure of the vegetation underneath the forest canopy. Although
long-term population trends are unclear, an overall decline of 82
percent over the past 70 years has been estimated. Conservation and
proper management of open pineland habitat, specifically sandhills,
as well as open fields with scattered trees clearly would benefit
this species. Controlled burning should be used to maintain a
grassy, open understory and dead tree snags should be preserved to
provide nesting sites. Nest boxes also can be installed in areas
where natural cavities are sparse.
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