Home range and residency status of Northern Goshawks breeding in Minnesota

C. W. Boal; D. E. Andersen; P.L. Kennedy

doi:10.1650/7138

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Home range and residency status of Northern Goshawks breeding in Minnesota

C. W. Boal·D. E. Andersen·P.L. Kennedy

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Abstract

We used radio-telemetry to estimate breeding season home - range size of 17 male and 11 female Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) and combined home ranges of 10 pairs of breeding goshawks in Minnesota . Home - range sizes for male and female goshawks were 2593 and 2494 ha, respectively, using the minimum convex polygon, and 3927 and 5344 ha, respectively, using the 95% fixed kernel. Home ranges of male and female members of 10 goshawk pairs were smaller than combined home - range size of those pairs (mean difference = 3527 ha; 95% CI = 891 to 6164 ha). Throughout the nonbreeding season, the maximum distance from the nest recorded for all but one goshawk was 12.4 km. Goshawks breeding in Minnesota have home ranges similar to or larger than those reported in most other areas. Home - range overlap between members of breeding pairs was typically ≤50%, and both members of breeding pairs were associated with breeding home ranges year round. Goshawk management plans based on estimated home - range size of individual hawks may substantially underestimate the area actually used by a nesting pair.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 43.29320031385282° to 48.951366470947725° latitude; -97.1630859375° to -89.82421875° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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C. W. Boal, D. E. Andersen, P.L. Kennedy. 2003. Home range and residency status of Northern Goshawks breeding in Minnesota. https://doi.org/10.1650/7138

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