S2S supports Shenandoah Raptor Study Area by delivering and installing 30 American Kestrel nest boxes.

Lance Morrow beside one of the newly installed nest boxes in the Shenandoah Raptor Study Area.

Over the last few months, S2S Executive Director Michael Cohn has constructed 30 American Kestrel nest boxes for the Shenandoah Raptor Study Area. The construction and delivery of these nest boxes was made possible by the Jerry Liguori Scholarship from Hawkwatch International. Master Kestrel banders Lance and Jill Morrow manage this area which covers 144 square miles of perfect raptor habitat. This past week, Mike joined the Morrows and delivered the final round of new nest boxes for their nest box network. Together, they installed these boxes. Mike commented on his experience: “I learn nonstop when I spend time with the Morrows. Their work, experience and knowledge is tremendous. We installed boxes, checked a few others, saw red tail and red shouldered hawks, multiple kestrel pairs around the boxes, spotted barn owls in an abandoned silo, surveyed for salamanders and frog spawn, and I also got to meet their shockingly beautiful Goshawk, they train for falconry. Now we look forward to assessing box success and all the banding to come!” Check out these awesome pictures below.

To learn more about the Morrows research in the SRSA, visit their ResearchGate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lance-Morrow

Lance preparing the new nest boxes for installation.

A Great Photo of a Barn Owl!

Lance near an abandoned farm shed which plays host to Barn Owls.

This is the Morrow’s Goshawk, which they train for falconry!