Tracking kestrels in Northern Virginia

Caylen Wolfer, a Masters of Science student at Virginia Tech, is analyzing GPS data from transmitters attached to kestrels primarily located in Fauquier and Rappahannock counties. Her work is part of the Northern Virginia Piedmont Kestrel Project that began through a collaborative effort from The Clifton Institute and Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. The broad goal of the project is meant to inform and guide land management decisions to best help this species which has been in decline. Brett Jesmer is Wolfer’s primary advisor in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech, and her work is co-supervised by The Smithsonian’s Joe Kolowski. Her master's thesis focuses on how sex, breeding stages, and habitat influence the movement of kestrels and what impact that has on breeding success.
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