Horse & Dragon Brewing Company Installs Kestrel Nesting Box at Brewery

Horse & Dragon Brewing Company is well recognized for the support it gives to the people of Northern Colorado, but did you know that the family-owned brewery is working to support our avian neighbors as well? In partnership with the Colorado Avian Rescue and Rehabilitation Institute (CARRI), Horse & Dragon has installed a kestrel nesting box on the brewery warehouse where they hope to attract a pair of nesting kestrels in the Spring of 2019.

Kestrels are the smallest raptors in North America and are members of the falcon genus. They feed primarily on small birds, insects, and small rodents. The breeding population of kestrels is experiencing a long term and gradual decline, and while there is some debate as to the reason, possibilities include habitat destruction, exposure to toxins, and environmental changes.

In an effort to boost declining kestrel numbers, Horse & Dragon is hoping that a pair of the falcons decide to move in this spring and raise a family! Since the box was installed in November of 2018, a Flicker (a medium sized bird in the woodpecker family) has been spending nights there, arriving at dusk and departing at dawn. A female kestrel has been seen inspecting the box but has yet to take up permanent residence.

CARRI has set up a nest camera to watch the box and keep tabs on new residents’ comings and goings. A live stream should be up on their website in the coming weeks!

Stay tuned this spring to see if a pair of kestrels decide to call Horse & Dragon Brewing Company home. The brewery is planning on brewing a beer in their honor, and, serendipitously, the incubation period for a clutch of kestrel eggs is about the same time that it takes to ferment a new beer, so it should be ready around the time of hatching! Updates and the upcoming live camera can be found here.