We described urban/suburban Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) nesting habitat and compared nesting habitat to unused habitat based on presence and absence of Red-tailed Hawks. We developed a landscape-scale logistic model of nesting habitat occupancy, then applied it to other locations to determine whether unoccupied patches of Red-tailed Hawk nesting habitat existed in urban locations. Red-tailed Hawk nesting habitat in urban/suburban Milwaukee usually included large areas of grassland and other herbaceous cover types. Urban/suburban Red-tailed Hawk nesting habitat was comprised of more than three times as much grasslands and woodlands, and had greater land-cover diversity and patch richness than unused habitat. Characteristics of unused habitat indicated that Red-tailed Hawks avoided areas of heaviest urbanization, perhaps because of insufficient hunting habitat. The logistic regression model developed from our data demonstrated that suitable, unoccupied nesting habitat existed in this urban area. As the Red-tailed Hawk population expanded into urban locations in this study area, the birds apparently were adjusting well to urbanization. Additional studies of urban raptor populations may provide valuable insight into future management considerations for wildlife in human-influenced landscapes.

Electrocution may be an important agent of mortality in many raptor populations, and has been implicated as a contributing factor in the endangerment of some species. In Tucson, Arizona U.S.A. the electrocution of Harris's Hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) was reported in both the 1980s and 1990s. The latter report also described Harris's Hawks that survived electric shock injuries. From February 2003–May 2004, I captured and examined wild Harris's Hawks in Tucson to investigate whether electric shock injuries might be present in individuals that appeared healthy from a distance. I trapped 85 birds; seven exhibited definite electric-shock injuries, and seven exhibited suspected electric-shock injuries. One individual exhibited injuries not consistent with electric shock. I captured an equal number of males and females, but only one of the injured birds was a male. Females were significantly more likely to have injuries. Whether this difference reflects patterns of initial incurrence of injury, or of higher probability of survival after electric shock remains unresolved. As medium- and large-bodied raptors colonize urban areas where overhead electric systems tend to occur in high densities, those species may also incur increased risk of electrocution.

The narrowing of the Florida Peninsula into the Florida Keys concentrates large flights of migrating raptors en route to southern wintering grounds each fall. Between 1999 and 2004, HawkWatch International (HWI) conducted standardized daily counts of migrant raptors from 15 September to 13 November at Curry Hammock State Park in the middle Keys. Average annual counts for the eight most common species were: Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus; 3893); Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus; 3300); American Kestrel (Falco sparverius; 2800); Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus; 1908); Osprey (Pandion haliaetus; 1171); Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus; 568); Merlin (F. columbarius; 554); and Cooper's Hawk (A. cooperii; 545). Counts were comparable to or greater than totals from each of nine sites representative of the major raptor migration corridors within the Nearctic-Neotropical migration system. Given the unique geographic position of the Florida Keys in the southeastern U.S. where no other major concentrations of migratory raptors occur, long-term counts at Curry Hammock will be important for monitoring North American raptor population trends. Counts of migrating Peregrine Falcons at this site may be of particular importance, because more costly monitoring efforts at breeding sites will decrease over time now that peregrines are no longer listed as an Endangered Species.

Grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in North America and populations of many grassland birds, including Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus), are declining. While native grasslands are disappearing, current procedures for reclaiming surface mines have produced large areas of grasslands in the eastern United States. Currently, little is known about the use of such grasslands by raptors. The objective of this study was to examine the nesting behavior of Northern Harriers on a reclaimed surface mine grassland in Kentucky. Over two breeding seasons (April–July 2002–03), 46 harrier nests were located, and young fledged from 10 (21.7%) of these nests. All but one nest were located in dry, upland areas, and the increased vulnerability of nests in such sites to predation may have contributed to this relatively low nesting success. Successful nests were located in denser vegetation than unsuccessful nests, suggesting that greater concealment may reduce predation risk. The percentage of breeding females that were subadults (44.4%) was higher in this Kentucky population than reported elsewhere, although nest success did not differ with female age. Most prey items delivered to nestlings were small mammals (134 of 139; 96.4%), with male harriers capturing most prey and, in aerial exchanges, transferring those prey to females for delivery to the nest. These results suggest that Northern Harriers can breed successfully on reclaimed surface mine grasslands.

The Iberian Peninsula, and primarily Spain, includes about 50% of the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) population in the western Palearctic. This endangered species has experienced a sharp decline in southern Europe since the end of the nineteenth century and has become extinct in most of its former distribution area. In this paper we report the Egyptian Vulture population trend between 1988–2005, and the number of breeding pairs and reproductive performance, 2003–2005, in Castellón province of eastern Spain. The number of breeding pairs increased from one pair in 1989 to 12 in 2005, probably due to the absence of poisoning and direct persecution in the Castellón province. From 2003–2005, we observed 34 breeding attempts at 23 different breeding sites. Mean chicks fledged per occupied territory was 0.91 ± 0.08, mean chicks fledged per successful pair was 1.20 ± 0.09, and mean breeding success was 0.76 ± 0.07 successful pairs per breeding pair.