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1 March 2013 Migration and Habitat Preferences of Swainson's Hawks at an Autumn Stopover Site in Northwestern Texas
Carroll D. Littlefield
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Unlike most raptors, the Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) migrates long distances between breeding and wintering ranges, which elevates the importance of stopover sites for foraging. We conducted three years of fall surveys in the Southern High Plains of Texas. Migrant Swainson's Hawks moved through the area mostly between July and mid-October, peaking in September. Subadults tended to migrate earlier than adults, and light morphs before dark morphs. Favored foraging habitats included silage corn, green beans, and alfalfa, but the hawks foraged primarily where ongoing agricultural activities disturbed prey and made them more available.

A diferencia de la mayoría de las rapaces, Buteo swainsoni migra largas distancias entre sus áreas de reproducción e invernada, lo que aumenta la importancia de los sitios de parada para forrajear. Realizamos muestreos durante tres otoños en las Southern High Plains de Texas. Los individuos de B. swainsoni migrantes se desplazaron a través del área generalmente entre julio y la mitad de octubre, con el nivel más alto en septiembre. Los sub-adultos tendieron a migrar antes que los adultos y las formas claras antes que las formas oscuras. Los hábitats de forrajeo favoritos incluyeron silos de maíz, judías verdes y alfalfa, pero los halcones forrajearon principalmente donde las actividades agrícolas en desarrollo disturbaron a las presas y las hicieron más disponibles.

The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.
Carroll D. Littlefield "Migration and Habitat Preferences of Swainson's Hawks at an Autumn Stopover Site in Northwestern Texas," Journal of Raptor Research 47(1), 54-59, (1 March 2013). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-11-41.1
Received: 19 May 2011; Accepted: 1 September 2012; Published: 1 March 2013
KEYWORDS
agriculture
Buteo swainsoni
fall migration
foraging
Southern High Plains
Swainson's hawk
Texas
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