Hampshire bird of prey charity steams secret nest-life of Kestrels
Kestrel Cam can capture precious moments happening within a nest, as parents tend to their chicks
The Hawk Conservancy Trust is bringing more wildlife joy with the launch of a new Kestrel Cam and eagle-eyed or, in this case, kestrel-eyed viewers can capture precious moments happening within a nest, as parents tend to their chicks.
Visitors to the Hampshire-based bird of prey charity’s YouTube channel can now follow the nest-life of an expectant Kestrel couple with a special webcam streaming a live feed,.
The webcam has been carefully installed at a secret nesting location in Hampshire which is part of the Hawk Conservancy Trust’s conservation and research efforts supporting Kestrels – a species now on the Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) Amber List in the UK as the population continues to decline for reasons not wholly understood.
The webcam initiative hopes to raise awareness, appreciation and ultimately vital funds as part of the Trust’s campaign to raise £60,000 during 2025 - the sixtieth year that the charity’s site near Andover, Hampshire has been working with wildlife.
Hawk Conservancy Trust CEO Penny Smout said: “This incredible opportunity to watch the life of nesting Kestrels is a direct result of our work with species out in countryside. The webcam is within one of the hundreds of nest boxes we’ve installed as part of our Raptor Nest Box Project which provides nesting opportunities to encourage breeding while allowing monitoring work aimed at identifying the causes of such worrying population decline.
Penny went on to explain that the Trust is hoping that people’s enjoyment of the live streaming will lead to even more admiration for these stunning birds and a desire to support the Trust in its quest to identify practical solutions to help combat difficult issues: “While tackling factors such as loss of habitat, decreasing prey populations, agricultural chemicals and a lack of suitable nesting sites is complex, helping us doesn’t have to be. It can be as simple as enjoying the stream on YouTube and following the link to make a small donation or using our website to book a fantastic day out at our visitor centre where you can see magnificent birds of prey, including our Kestrel Ambassador, Scout, in our flying displays every day.”
The Kestrel Cam is now live on YouTube and can easily be found by following the links on the Hawk Conservancy Trust’s website at www.hawk-conservancy.org together with details of the Raptor Next Box Project which helps several bird of prey species and has already seen the installation of 1600 nest boxes, around 400 of which are for Kestrels.