van der Zande A.N. & Verstrael T.J. (1985) Impacts of outdoor recreation upon nest-site choice and breeding success of the Kestrel. ARDEA 73 (1): 90-98

In 1980 a mail questionnaire was designed to investigate the impacts of outdoor recreation upon the density and breeding success of the Kestrel breeding in nest-boxes. The returned questionnaires yielded data about 160 nest-boxes in The Netherlands over the period 1975- 1980. The nestboxes could be classified according to distance from human activities, accessibility, and visibility. Nest-site choice and breeding success parameters were analysed in the various recreation intensity classes: this analysis took into account the effects of other variables such as the characteristics of the nest-boxes and the characteristics of the nest-box area. Significant effects were found between different years, apparently closely related to vole abundance. Summarizing the results and discussion we conclude that: 1.recreation may cause the Kestrel to avoid areas freely accessible to humans and areas approximately 50 m from sources of disturbance; 2. recreation may also influence the breeding success of the Kestrel in areas with free access to humans and in areas near sources of human disturbance; 3. the effect of accessibility is strongest in years with a low food supply for the Kestrel and is especially important during the settlement and incubating stage of the breeding cycle; 4. the effect of the distance from a source of disturbance (road) can be strong in both vole non-peak and vole peak years and is of special influence in the incubating and young-raising stage of the breeding cycle.