Artificial nests for Lesser Kestrels

[mike in Jerez]

Somewhere on the forum John was asking a while back about nests for Cernícalo primilla. The attached article (In Spanish) is about a group in Almendralejo (Badajoz) who earlier this year installed 63 artifical nests on a church roof. Between 70-80 pairs nest on this particular church, varying from year to year , and in the town about 100 pairs altogether. The group, DEMA, also has 6 pairs in a breeding centre and these birds are re-introduced where populations have dwindled, one of them being in the Alhambra in Granada. The nests are made in Germany and then adapted to prevent access by pigeons and crows. The address is:
http://www.soitu.es/soitu/2009/02/12/info/1234432412_617289.html

Click where it says video on the left and you can see the nests close up. Sound not always good though
mike

[mike in Jerez]

Further to the above info re artificial nests, DEMA does, in fact , have a very detailed website :/www.demaprimilla.org/ with excellent photos and information about their activities. The artificial nests are made by www.schwegler-nature.com in Schorndorf near Stuttgart.The idea eventually is to get the birds to nest under the roof tiles.
The nests on the mesh on the concrete post are successful and are placed back to back, one metre apart, 5 to 7.5 m from the ground.

[Derek]

Interesting thread Mike and the detail on the web site very good. Did the ABS project start yet or is it still waiting for funding?

Derek 

[mike in Jerez]

Don`t know if there was an actual "project", but I seem to remember John and maybe Stephen discussing this some months ago, although I can`t locate the thread. As I see quite a lot of Spanish tv and newsapers, I sometimes find snippets like the one in Almendralejo and try to make them known to the rest of you. Indeed the webite is quite amazing in its detail.