Matt Florez, a Scout, a Venturer, a Sea Scout, and a member of the Order of the Arrow (the Scouting National Honor Society) led a Scout project in December 2025 to build eight American Barn Owl nest boxes for the Maryland Farmland Raptor Program. This is Matt’s story about how he became inspired to take on this project.
Now, in early winter, is a perfect time to construct nest boxes for the Maryland Farmland Raptor Program so that they can be installed and ready for when kestrels and barn owls begin looking for places to nest at the end of winter and in early spring. The Farmland Raptor program has made it easier than ever to help with a series of YouTube videos demonstrating how-to construct three different types of nest boxes.
As the state coordinator for Bird City Maryland, I was part of an international delegation to Colombia in South America this past fall. The trip took place over 10 days in mid-October, in the middle of fall migration, and coincided with World Migratory Bird Day. The trip was one magical experience after another. When we arrived in Colombia there were two Bird Cities, and by the time we left there were twelve Bird Cities! Read more.
American Kestrels are almost entirely absent during the breeding season on the Lower Eastern Shore, according to data collected during the Maryland and DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3. To reverse the decline of the breeding population of this iconic falcon, the Maryland Farmland Raptor Program went down to the Lower Eastern Shore in October 2025, to explore the potential for expanding the program there. We met with private landowners and volunteers and ultimately installed four kestrel nest boxes and identified potential locations for at least four more. Read more.
The Farmland Raptor Program expanded nest box installation and monitoring efforts this year. We added 19 American Barn Owl boxes and 59 American Kestrel boxes. By installing and monitoring these nest boxes, we are creating real opportunities for recovery of these species while building the long-term dataset needed to guide our conservation work. Read more.
As the state coordinator for Bird City Maryland, I was part of an international delegation to Colombia in South America this past fall. The trip took place over 10 days in mid-October, in the middle of fall migration, and coincided with World Migratory Bird Day. The trip was one magical experience after another. When we arrived in Colombia there were two Bird Cities, and by the time we left there were twelve Bird Cities! Read more.
Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership is pleased to announce that the City of Westminster has been recognized as Carroll County’s first Bird City Maryland community. Westminster values high-quality greenspace for both birds and people, something highlighted by their status as a Tree City for 35 years. Their improvements to Wakefield Valley, a golf course-turned-park, showcase this. Westminster has planted 6,000 trees, created pollinator meadows, and maintains a paved-walking path for better accessibility with plans to enhance this even further. Read more.
