First Ferrug of the year

I've been enamored of the Ferruginous hawk since I started studying raptors. This hawk is in peril in Boulder County. Since 1990, its numbers have plummeted along raptor survey routes. This could be directly linked to the destruction and fragmentation of prairie dog colonies from human development.

The Ferruginous hawk is a specialist. It relies on specific prey (in Boulder County, the black-tailed prairie dog) and prefers vast expanses of grassland habitat uninterrupted by human development and agriculture. The year 1990 marked the beginning of the end of the prairie dog colonies that sustained Ferruginous hawks, Bald eagles, and Red-tailed hawks along what is now the U.S. 36 corridor between Boulder and Superior. One thousand new homes went up by 1994, and nearly all of the prairie dog colonies were decimated. Ferruginous hawk numbers declined by 90% along this route from 1993-1996. They have hovered around the 1996 numbers until now (Gietzen, RA; Jones, SR; and McKee RJ, 1996).

The good news is that the Ferruginous hawk is still a regular winter visitor to Boulder County, and with a bit of patience, skill, and luck, you can find this regal raptor perched atop an electrical pole or on the ground of what's left of the rolling native grasslands in eastern Boulder County. I captured these images on November 14th.