On Sunday afternoon, February 10, 2013, Warren County, Pennsylvania, native Don Watts will give a presentation on the American Kestrel at the Audubon Center and Sanctuary. Watts is shown here holding a baby kestrel before returning it to its nest box after being banded. (Photo by Suzette Paduano)

Jamestown, NY – The Audubon Center and Sanctuary is offering an opportunity to learn about the behaviors and habits of our smallest bird of prey and how you can help this wonderful little bird to thrive.
On Sunday afternoon, February 10, Warren County, Pennsylvania, native Don Watts will give a presentation on the American Kestrel.
From 1:30-3 p.m., you can learn about this beautiful bird, its habits, and how you can support the species.
If you have a large open field or meadow, you may be a perfect candidate to help the American Kestrel thrive in our region. Ideal habitat for this bird is an “edge” habitat that provides a large open field for them to hunt, and the protection of a dead tree with a cavity for nesting.
Kestrels have readily accepted manmade nest boxes when natural tree cavities are not available.
Since a teenager, Watts has been an active outdoorsman, hunting in the Allegheny National Forest area. As a young adult he became more interested in birding activities and assumed the task of monitoring the American Kestrel Nest Box Trail in Warren County.
A sample of Watts’s other birding activities include: participant in the first Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas; regional coordinator in the second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas; Master Bird Bander; participant in United States Fish & Wildlife breeding bird surveys for over 20 years; conducted grassland surveys for Pennsylvania Game Commission; past president of Roger Tory Peterson Ornithological Club; coordinator of the Warren PA Christmas Bird Count; and Wildlife Technician for the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service for four years in the study of the Cerulean Warbler.
Thanks to a generous sponsor stepping forward to pay your fee for this program, you can participate free of charge. Reservations are not required.
Audubon education programs are made possible in part through funding from the Johnson Foundation, the Carnahan Jackson Foundation, the Hultquist Foundation, and the Jessie Smith Darrah Fund.
Located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren, the Audubon Center and Sanctuary has over five miles of beautifully maintained trails on a 600-acre wetland preserve. Its three-story building contains a nature store and a collection of live fish, reptiles, and amphibians. One of the most visited exhibits is Liberty, a non-releasable bald eagle.
To learn more about the Center and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345 or visit http://jamestownaudubon.org/.