What's going on, Albuquerque?

Albuquerque Cooper’s Hawk Project

Cooper’s Hawks are our most common urban raptor. This is a crow-sized hawk that uses stick nests throughout the city. Cooper’s Hawks are largely bird-eating birds, eating mainly doves and pigeons in the city. They typically breed in Albuquerque between April and July, and can be very protective parents.

We are studying this hawk to obtain better information on our Albuquerque Cooper’s Hawks, help us to understand their behavior for their sake and ours, and to help us better manage rare raptor populations elsewhere in the U.S.

What are we doing in your neighborhood?
Banding hawks, placing radio transmitters on some hawks and collecting information on:

Nest density, success, and productivity
Survival rates of adults and chicks
Home ranges and movement
Diet and disease
Identity and ages of parents
Nest-site defense

For more information, or to help us monitor your local hawks, email Albcoha@gmail.com

Millsap, Madden, Murphy 2012

Tags: openspace, parks

3 members like this

Comment by mjh on March 27, 2012 at 10:18pm: I'm not involved, just passing the info on.

Comment by Debby S on March 28, 2012 at 6:23am: I've seen and photographed these hawks in the Country Club area, downtown, and south of Central in the Univesity area. They're everywhere and that's very nice to see. They are rather the aereal counterpart of roadrunners, who also capture other but smaller birds.

Comment by mjh on March 28, 2012 at 10:16pm: Ironically, my most-seen blog entry on the Fix contains not a word I wrote or a photo I took. www.photosbymjh.com

Comment by Edith Grove on March 29, 2012 at 9:13am: There is a pair with a nest in Hyder Park. I love listening for their calls and then finding them in the trees. It may just be my imagination, but it seems they like to watch some of the smaller chihuahuas.