URBAN, SUBURBAN AND RURAL RED-TAILED HAWK NESTING HABITAT AND POPULATIONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN

Nesting Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are becoming increasingly common in urban environments. We described Red-tailed Hawk nesting ha bitat and reproductive success and compared urban, suburban, and rural nesting locations in southeast Wisconsin. Nest sites were classified as urban, suburban or rural if greater than or equal to 70%, 30-70%, o r less than or equal to 30% of the area (706.9 ha, 1.5-km radius) arou nd nests was used for industrial or residential purposes, respectively . Mean success and productivity of breeding Red-tailed Hawks in the me tropolitan Milwaukee area from 1989-94 (N = 426) was 81.9% (range = 75 .3-92.7%) and 1.43 young/breeding pair (range = 1.13-1.91), respective ly. Brood size averaged 1.75 young/successful nest (range = 1.61-2.06) . Productivity was variable and was significantly higher in 1994 than each of the preceding yr (P < 0.001). Based on internest distances, th e density of the Red-tailed Hawk nesting population for rural location s was greater than in suburban areas and lowest in urban locations. Th e amount of natural microhabitat cover around nests (19.6 ha, 0.25-km radius) did not differ for urban, suburban, or rural nest sites (P = 0 .967) indicating that cover was an important component of the nesting habitat of Red-tailed Hawks. Natural cover comprised about 16% of the landscape area of urban sites and 40% of this area was wooded with the remaining 60% consisting of herbaceous cover. Urban planning should c onsider the amount of natural cover to allow Red-tailed Hawks and othe r wildlife to coexist with humans in an urban environment.