|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
| Ferruginous Hawk |  |
Status: Losses in local populations have been observed, but a widespread decline has not yet occurred.
Habitat/Range: The ferruginous hawk likes open country, primarily prairies, plains and badlands; sagebrush, saltbush-greasewood shrublands, the periphery of pinyon-juniper and other woodlands, and desert. They can be found breeding in eastern Washington, south-central Canada, south to eastern Oregon, northern Arizona, northern New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, extreme western Oklahoma and western Kansas. Non-breeding areas are primarily south-central U.S. to Baja California and central Mexico.
Threats: Some habitat has been lost to agricultural development. Invasive plant species like cheatgrass and Russian thistle have threatened native grasslands and shrublands, which are needed to support viable populations. Many species of prey, such as squirrels and small rodents, have been poisoned as pests or to improve rangeland.
Restoration Potential: Protecting large tracts of native prairie and keeping out invasive plant species will provide the most benefit. Eliminating opportunities for feeding on poisoned prey species, often found in prairie dog towns, will also be beneficial. Grazing provides benefits by reducing vegetative cover and making prey more visible.
Places We Are Protecting:
- Ramona Grasslands in San Diego County, California
- Saltillo Grasslands Protected Area, Mexico
- Janos Grasslands, Mexico
- Western High Plains/ Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska
- Fox Ranch/ Arikaree River, Colorado
- Matador Ranch, Montana
- Smokey Valley Ranch/ Chalk Bluffs, Kansas
- Cherry Ranch/ Sioux Prairie, Nebraska
- Bitter Creek, Montana/ Grasslands National Park, Canada
Learn More:
View a species management abstract for this bird.
Illustrations by David Allen Sibley from The National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Copyright © 2000 by Chanticleer Press and David Allen Sibley. No illustrations may be copied, reproduced, or reused without the express written permission of the copyright holders.
