S2S installs new nestboxes at Thistlerock Mead Company in Charlottesville, VA!

The team gathered around the finished product!

A team of veterans, Virginia Master Naturalists, members of the Virginia Grassland Birds Initiative, and Piedmont Virginia Bird Club came together to share expertise and install several kestrel boxes at a new partner site, Thistlerock Mead Company in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Gameplanning!

Thistlerock is pioneering sustainable agricultural and production practices, maintaining tremendous wild spaces and native species on their farm, supporting the pollinators that help make the Mead, and offering a great opportunity to enhance more local biodiversity.

Installing one of the boxes!

John and the team were wonderful hosts, opening their property to this great collaboration, which we hope can serve as a model for other local farms in the area to adopt ecologically safe and effective pest control by installing kestrel boxes. 

Prepping the Nestbox Poll and Stand!

Thanks again to Alan, Kait, Laura, Lauria, Terri, and everyone at Thistlerock Meadery - the mead and varieties were outstanding! Stop by to see our handy work, sample the meads, and stay tuned as our collaboration continues to grow!

This is definitely one of the most sophisticated Nest Boxes we have helped to install!

Adding the finishing touches!

S2S is always grateful and excited to join new partners in expanding the Kestrel Network throughout Virginia and New York. At this point S2S has partnered with individuals, conservations groups, and national parks to continuously refurbish and expand this kestrel nest box network with well over a hundred nest boxes since the spring of 2024. We will continue to do so, and we look forward to news of visiting kestrels in this upcoming breeding season in the late Winter and Spring of 2027.

Take a look through our newsfeed and website to see additional parts of this extensive effort to provide suitable habitats for the American Kestrel, a species in decline. S2S is excited for what the future will bring! Stay tuned for more updates!