Appendix F Detailed Cover Type Tables - USDA Rural Development

Bemidji – Grand Rapids
Biological Assessment and Evaluation
Species Description
The Conservation Assessment for Red‐shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) (Jacobs & Jacobs, 2002)
includes the following species description:
The Red‐shouldered Hawk is a medium sized raptor that exhibits reverse sexual
dimorphism (females are larger, but to a lesser degree than accipiters). Males measured
in total length 43‐58 cm (17‐23 in) and females 48‐61 cm (19‐24 in) (Crocoll 1994). Mass
from breeding birds found males and females averaged 550 g and 701 g respectively in
Michigan (Craighead and Craighead 1956) and 544 g (486‐582) and 670 g (593‐774)
respectively in Wisconsin (J. & E. Jacobs in Crocoll 1994).
Adult Plumage is dark brown dorsally with black and white bands on the flight feathers.
Ventrally the breast and belly are colored with orange, pale orange or rusty reddish
horizontal barring. Upper lesser wing coverts (“shoulders”) are rusty brown. Tail is
relatively longer when compared to other eastern Buteos with (when viewed dorsally)
three distinct narrow white bands (approx. 1 cm wide) separated by wider (approx. 3
cm) corresponding black bands. Cere, legs, and feet are pale yellow to orange in color.
The iris color is dark brown (pers. obs.)
Species Habitat
Red‐shouldered hawks require a substantial food base, and at least during the breeding season they are
distinctly territorial. The red‐shouldered hawk is associated with mixed coniferous‐deciduous
woodlands, moist hardwood forests, swamps, river bottomlands, and wooded marsh openings, with the
borders of lakes and streams or other wetlands being especially favored habitat (Johnsgard, 1990).
Widespread destruction and fragmentation of riparian habitats has forced this species to rely on upland
forests to a greater extent (Ebbers 1991a). In such areas, human‐made grasslands may replace wetlands
as hunting habitat (Ebbers 1991a).
Nesting habitat is characterized by taller than average closed‐canopy trees with well‐developed crowns.
American beech and sugar maple are frequently selected for nesting, where the nest is usually built in a
secure crotch of a large‐diameter tree situated well below the canopy (Ebbers, 1991a). Morris and
Lemon (1983) found that red‐shouldered hawk nests were typically found in mature deciduous forest
stands dominated by sugar maple and American beech and characterized by mature trees and a reduced
understory. A two‐year study located 20 red‐shouldered hawk nests on the CNF. These nests occurred in
closed‐canopy mature northern hardwoods (17 nests) or mature aspen (three nests) interspersed with
wetlands (McLeod and Anderson 1997)
Home ranges for the red‐shouldered hawk are smaller when compared to those of the northern
goshawk. In Michigan, Craighead and Craighead (1956) found that mean breeding home ranges were 63
hectares, but varied from 7.7 to 155 hectares.
Species Distribution and Occurrences within the Study Area
The red‐shouldered hawk’s range generally extends between the Mississippi River Valley and the
Atlantic Coast. A separate population also resides along the Pacific Coast in California (All About Birds
2009). Red–shouldered hawks are at the northern periphery of their range in the National Forests of
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan (USFS, 2002). Much of this species’ former habitat in southern
Minnesota was destroyed or fragmented by human development, logging, and agriculture (USFS 2004).
There are presently about 430 known or suspected nesting sites in Minnesota; a majority of these sites
are located within just a few meta‐populations (USFS, 2004). One of these meta‐populations occurs on
July 2010 Species and Associated Habitat Page 4‐10