Nest Monitoring and Management

Our local teams start searching for Ridgway's Hawks during the start of breeding season in early January. They visit known territories as well as explore new areas in search of existing and new breeding pairs. Once pairs are located, the teams visit the area weekly to begin collecting data on behavior, diet, and nesting. 

Teams continue to monitor nests throughout the breeding season, which lasts into June or July. When the nestlings are old enough, our team will climb into the nest to band the young hawks. Banding helps us to identify individual birds. Any resighting of bands provides us with information on nestling survival, dispersal patterns, and more.

Ridgway's Hawks most often nest in palm trees. Over time the palm fronds naturally dry up and fall away. If the fronds that support the nest begin to fall, they can cause the entire nest to give way. If there are eggs or young nestlings in the nest, this can be a big problem. To prevent the nest from falling, our team climbs into the nest, cuts the falling fronds, and secures them with rope. This temporary measure supports the nest long enough for the nestlings to fledge from the nest. 

One of the biggest natural threats to the species is infestation by parasitic nest flies whose larvae burrow beneath the skin of nestlings and feed on their blood and tissue. To prevent this, our team treats the nest approximately 10 days before the nestlings are due to hatch. We spray the nests with Permetrhin and this helps reduce infestations by nearly 100%. This effort has resulted in nearly a 3 fold increase in nest productivity. 

Our team continues to monitor the nests until the young disperse from their natal territories. After fledgling, at about 40 days old, the young hawks will remain with the adults for several weeks before dispersing.