The Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is listed as threatened in California.
Its numbers have declined significantly in parts of the western United States; and in the western Canadian prairie, reproduction of the Swainson’s Hawk has dropped since the mid-1980s, following a decline in its main prey species, Richardson’s ground squirrel.
In 1995, satellite telemetry was used for the first time to investigate Swainson Hawk migration; these studies revealed that thousands of these hawks were dying in Argentina as a result of the use of pesticides.
Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
Leave a Reply