How Tiny Falcons Protect Michigan Cherries — And May Reduce Food‑Safety Risks

How Tiny Falcons Protect Michigan Cherries — And May Reduce Food‑Safety Risks

If you savor a warm slice of cherry pie this holiday, you may have an unlikely helper to thank: the American kestrel. At roughly the size of a blue jay, the American kestrel is North America’s smallest falcon, but in Michigan — the nation's tart cherry capital — it can play an outsized role in protecting orchards.

Kestrels as Natural Pest Managers

Recent research builds on earlier work showing that kestrels reduce pest pressure in cherry orchards by preying on insects, rodents and smaller birds that eat fruit. Farmers who install elevated wooden nest boxes often attract kestrels, which then hunt in and around the trees. A 2018 study found orchards with kestrel boxes had fewer cherry‑eating birds — such as robins and grackles — and estimated growers could save up to $357 in fruit for every $1 spent on nest boxes (boxes cost about $115 installed in 2018).

New Evidence: Less Fruit Damage And Feces

A study published in late November, led by Olivia Smith at Michigan State University, strengthens the case. Researchers compared orchards with and without occupied kestrel nest boxes and found significantly less fruit damage — fewer eaten or partially eaten cherries — where kestrels nested. They also collected and tested bird droppings from the orchards and found more feces in orchards without kestrels.

Why that matters: avian droppings can carry pathogens such as Campylobacter, a common cause of foodborne illness. The researchers detected Campylobacter in some fecal samples, suggesting kestrels may indirectly reduce certain pre‑harvest contamination risks by keeping fruit‑raiding birds away.

That finding is not a claim that cherries from affected orchards are broadly unsafe. Campylobacter does not persist long in open air, growers are advised not to harvest visibly contaminated fruit, and harvested cherries are washed before sale. Still, reducing the number of pest birds — and the feces they leave on branches and fruit — likely lowers the small pre‑harvest bacterial risk.

Other Nature‑Based Pest Controls

The kestrel work fits into a broader picture of using predators to control agricultural pests. In New Zealand, a program that introduced falcons into vineyards reported a 95% reduction in grapes removed by pest birds compared with vineyards without falcons. Many U.S. wineries likewise install kestrel boxes to control mice, voles and nuisance birds. Decades‑long use of barn‑owl boxes to manage rodents has helped some farmers cut reliance on toxic rodenticides; for example, Israel reported a roughly 45% drop in rodenticide use as owl‑box programs expanded.

Bats also provide huge value by eating night‑flying insect pests. Declines in bat populations from disease have been associated with increased pesticide use, higher farming costs and, in one striking study, links to negative human‑health outcomes in nearby communities.

Conservation And Agriculture: A Two‑Way Benefit

There is an irony at the heart of this story: agricultural expansion and pesticide use have contributed to declines in many predatory species, including kestrels. Yet simple conservation actions — such as installing nest boxes and preserving habitat — can draw these predators back into working landscapes and provide measurable benefits to growers and consumers alike.

"If you can get kestrels nesting, it’s a big benefit," said Catherine Lindell, a longtime researcher of kestrels in Michigan orchards. The evidence suggests that bringing back predatory birds is a low‑cost, nature‑based strategy that helps protect crops, reduce some pre‑harvest contamination risks and support biodiversity.