Ferruginous Hawk
(Buteo regalis)

Overview

Summary

© H. Loney Dickson
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Ferruginous Hawk breeds on the native grasslands of the Prairie provinces. Surveys in Alberta, covering the core of the species’ breeding range in Canada, suggest that the population has decreased since 1982 but the trend has stabilized at low numbers since about 2000. Reasons for the recent stabilization are unknown. In 2008, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed Ferruginous Hawk as Threatened based the suspected recent decline at that time, the small size of the Canadian population, and its sensitivity to human disturbance (COSEWIC 2008d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

The Ferruginous Hawk, a specialist predator, is strongly tied to natural grasslands in the southern Prairie provinces.  Populations of Ferruginous Hawk fluctuate with populations of Richardson's ground squirrels, their primary prey (COSEWIC 2008d). Poisoning of ground squirrels may have adverse effects on some local populations. Over 80% of all natural grassland habitat has been converted to intensive agricultural uses since the arrival of Europeans (WWFC 1989). Ferruginous Hawks are also sensitive to disturbance around the nest; breeding success may be lower around active oil and gas wells (COSEWIC 2008d). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2008d. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 24 pp. COSEWIC. 2008d. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 24 pp. (Link)
• Moltzahn, A.J. 2011. The 2010 Ferruginous Hawk inventory and population analysis. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Species at Risk Report 101. Edmonton, Alberta. 18 pp.
• World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWFC). 1989. Prairie Conservation Action Plan. WWFC, Toronto, Ontario. 38 pp.