Eagle Mountain Kestrel Project – 2023 Nesting Season

One of the things that I have really enjoyed doing over the past few years is helping the Eagle Mountain Kestrel project as well as the Eagle Mountain Nature and Wildlife Alliance. I don’t do as much as I can, but one thing I like to do is use Cedar Valley Sentinel to spread the news of events and things that have been happening in regards to Wildlife and Nature around Cedar Valley.

One of the things that we do have a major part in is the Eagle Mountain Kestrel Projects webcam. The Cedar Valley Sentinel donates the Internet that is being used to power the webcams as well as hosts the nesting box and the webcam recording equipment. It is something that we really enjoy doing each year, and in return, we get to help brand the fledglings.

The American Kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon, embodies a predator’s fierce essence despite its diminutive size. Renowned for its vibrant appearance, the male boasts slate-blue head and wings that elegantly contrast with his rusty-red back and tail. Similarly, the female displays the same warm reddish hues on her wings, back, and tail. These raptors excel at hunting insects and other small quarry within expansive landscapes. Their hunting techniques involve perching on wires or poles, as well as hovering into the wind, adeptly manipulating their lengthy tails to maintain position. Regrettably, kestrel populations are diminishing in specific areas of their habitat. [*]

Here is an update on the Eagle Mountain Kestrel Project, we want to thank Shon Reed for giving us this data and for being the main driving force behind the project. His love of feathery animals has given the Kestrel a great platform and area in the Cedar Valley to grow. We have also been able to get some great data and learn some new things about Kestrels because of the project.

For more data and to follow the project, make sure you join their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/516868815156496

Brett Wright a Councilmember for the Eagle Mountain City Council also has a nesting box that is located on his property. His nesting box was one of the 20 successful nests and contributed 5 fledglings to the 80 new birds introduced to the Cedar Valley.

NOTE: The above photos and video were shared by Brett Wright with his permission to publish on the site.

The Eagle Mountain Nature and Wildlife Alliance wanted to see the views of the 2023 candidates and current elected officials towards wildlife. This is from a recent post they had on their Facebook page.

QUESTION: 𝗜𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗿? 𝗜𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼?

The Eagle Mountain Nature and Wildlife Alliance reached out to the mayor, all current city council members, and all candidates for city council for an interview. We sent them all the same three questions ahead of the interviews and recorded their responses.

This is the third question we asked.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 (𝗜𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿)

• Craig Morris (declined to participate)
• Rich Wood https://youtu.be/GxMO5cNx8gg
• Craig Whiting https://youtu.be/E894VuahWSk
• Angeline Washburn (awaiting approval from the candidate to release video)
• Scott Ferre (declined to participate)
• Jared R Gray https://youtu.be/j9XSAuoxS_4
• Melissa Clark https://youtu.be/wCqgRcVLZlQ
  

𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 (𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿)

• Donna Burnham https://youtu.be/CwdBc9Agf8
• Colby Curtis https://youtu.be/y8IYI_PErL4
• Jared Gray https://youtu.be/j9XSAuoxS_4
• Carolyn Love https://youtu.be/HHdWO0Q56kM
• Tom Westmoreland https://youtu.be/v3kUBrfjygE
• Brett Wright https://youtu.be/1QmBNIMKsx4