Students from Charlottetown's Holland College were out Friday banding kestrel chicks hatched in nesting boxes.

This is the fifth year Holland College has maintained the boxes. They were set up to provide the birds with more places to build nests and this spring the program was expanded from 35 to 50 boxes.

"We're allowing these birds to actually nest here," said Dwaine Oakley, with the Wildlife Conservation Technology Program at Holland College.

"In the wild they would have to search out and seek a large cavity nest left behind by a woodpecker or some other structure. Whereas, if we would put up the nest boxes, they're readily available to these birds."

The birds are on the decline across North America because of unsuitable nesting sites. The Holland College students band the birds to help track them.

So far this summer they've banded 88 chicks, and four more chicks were banded Friday from a box in Covehead. The team will be checking on six other boxes as well.

Boxes have been established in Frenchfort, Covehead, Stanhope, Brookfield and Anglo Rustico.