A MOTORIZED FOOD BOX FOR USE IN SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING EXPERIMENTS

Few supplemental feeding experiments have been conducted on carnivores because of the difficulty involved in providing food to these species . We conducted a supplemental feeding experiment on the Northern Gosha wk (Accipiter gentilis), an avian predator, in north-central New Mexic o. To avoid attracting potential nocturnal predators of Northern Gosha wk nestlings, we provided dead quail in a food box with a motorized co ver that closed at night and opened the following morning. The box, co nstructed of rough lumber and simple hardware, was a reliable way to d eliver food during the nestling period. Of 14 boxes, nine worked for t he entire nestling period (approximately 4 wk), or until nest failure, four boxes became inoperable after being knocked over by black bears, and one box developed loose wires and no longer functioned by the end of the third week. We recommend the following food box design improve ments: increased connection stability of box to post, heavier metal fo r cover and hinge arms, improved operating link connection to hinge ar ms, and a completely covered circuit board to minimize wire disconnect ion.