Winter Raptors: Part 3

From what I have been hearing around the country, Boise Idaho is not the only place receiving record low totals of snow fall this winter. Maybe it is just going to be one of those years…. Although I do keep a sliver of hope out there for snow eventually. Aided by the nice weather, surveys have been progressing well since my last blog entry. As you may notice from the raw numbers below, there have been considerable jumps in the count totals for a few species, especially Rough-Legged Hawks and Golden Eagles.

Rough-Legged Hawks are here in full force, and it is rare NOT to see one during a survey this time of year. Stayed tuned to next months blog post where I will dive into these reclusive raptors in more detail, and also provide a short lesson on how to age and sex this species by their plumage/feather patterns. Golden Eagles have taken a considerable jump as well, and this may be due to where I have been surveying within my study area. Golden Eagles seem to hang out closer to the Snake River Canyon and further away from human developed/agricultural areas than most other raptors. These birds breed on cliff ledges in the canyon starting in February and March, and they may be staying closer to home in an attempt to secure the best breeding location over the coming months.

Prairie Falcon posing for the camera. Click for a larger view. Photo by Neil Paprocki.

My next entry will be closer to the end of the season in February, and after that I will eventually detail how these numbers have changed over the course of 20 years, and what that might mean for certain raptor species. For now, here are the raw count totals from November 15 through January 7, 2012 inside the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area:

Figure 1. Raw raptor species totals through January 7, 2012 in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. Northern Shrikes are considered an "honorary raptor" in my book.

Juvenile Rough-Legged Hawk. Photo by Neil Paprocki.