Temporal fluctuations of rough-legged hawks during carrion abundance

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Authors:

Watson, James W.

Source:

Journal of Raptor Research, Raptor Research Foundation, Volume 20, Issue 1, p.42-43 (1986)

Call Number:

A86WAT01IDUS

URL:

https://sora.unm.edu/node/52973

Keywords:

black-tailed jack rabbit, Buteo lagopus, Lepus califomicus, Rough-legged Hawk

Abstract:

Rapid local population changes in the wintering Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) have been attributed to the movement of hawks following snowfall, sometimes accompanied by dietary shifts to carrion. When Black-tailed Jack Rabbit (Lepus califomicus) populations peaked in southeastern Idaho in early 1980, rabbit carrion was overly abundant and available to the hawk population. To assess the influence of carrion abundance, snow depth, and minimum daily temperature on the seasonal abundance of hawks, I conducted a roadside raptor survey in winter 1982-83 and analyzed the association of these variables to hawk numbers by stepwise multiple regression.