KesCam at the Castle

St Andrews Links

Scotland

Written by: Trevor Harris

Back in 2009 after noting Kestrels hunting on the Castle Course, we believed if we could get the Kestrels to nest this may help support the local Kestrel population. In 2012 we placed a Telegraph pole with a Kestrel nesting box near the top, 6 meters above ground level. The box sat in position by the 12th fairway. After a few years, we realised that this was not suitable due to disturbance and the local Crow population.

In the winter of 2016, we decided to move the box to a quieter place. We moved the nesting box pole to the area 70m behind the 12th green, a good distance from golfers. In the spring of 2017, we noticed a pair displaying interest in the box, overflying and perching on it. The interest turned to use and that year the pair produced 5 eggs but only 1 hatched and fledged. We did however manage to ring and record it. In 2018, the pair returned and this time fledged 5 young, all ringed & recorded. A real success. In 2019, we installed WiFi and a nest box camera powered by a solar panel to monitor the birds' success and breeding stages. To date, we have fledged 15 young in 4 years. Most have been ringed and all filmed! A real success.

Tell your story

Share Your Highlight Now