Raptor abundance and diversity and red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) habitat characteristics on reclaimed mountaintop mines in southern West Virginia [electronic resource] /

by Balcerzak, Melissa J.

Raptor Abundance and Diversity and Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Habitat Characteristics on Reclaimed Mountaintop Mines in Southern West Virginia Melissa J. Balcerzak Raptor abundance and diversity were compared between 4 treatments (grassland, shrub/pole, fragmented forest, and intact forest) over 3 seasons (migration, summer, and winter) on 3 mountaintop/valley fill mines in southern West Virginia. Habitat characteristics of Redshouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) were examined at landscape and microhabitat scales. Fortyeight points were surveyed monthly (Feb. 2000-Jan. 2001) using broadcast calls. I quantified microhabitat characteristics within an 11.3 m radius plot and landscape characteristics within 1000 and 564 m buffer zones at each point. Abundance was highest in grasslands; richness did not differ among treatments. Overall, I detected a shift from a forest to a grassland raptor community. Red-shouldered Hawks were the most common woodland raptor species occurring almost exclusively in the 2 forest treatments, particularly in the intact forest. Amount of wetland in the landscape was the key characteristic determining presence of Red-shouldered Hawks. Woody debris was positively related to their abundance.