When I was ten years old, a pair of American kestrels built their nest inside the attic vent above my bedroom window. In our shared space, I felt privileged to learn about such fascinating creatures in such an intimate way. My experiences that summer blossomed into a lifelong passion for ornithology. As conspicuous and vocal organisms, bird populations can act as bellwethers for ecological change. I will use my research on avian behavioral ecology as a means to inform conservation of not only birds but, by proxy, whole ecosystems.
