Habitat Use by Foraging Northern Harriers on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

Habitat Use by Foraging Northern Harriers on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is of major conservation and management concern in the northeastern United States. We studied habitat use of foraging adult male and female harriers on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts among four habitat types: grassland, shrubland, mowed, and burned. Overall, fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology Vol. 121; no. 4; pp. 765 - 769
Main Authors: Massey, Blake H., Griffin, Curtice R., McGarigal, Kevin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Fort Collins Wilson Ornithological Society 01-12-2009
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal behavior
Animal nesting
Animal spatial behavior
Animal spatial behaviour
Behavior
Birds
Circus cyaneus
Company distribution practices
Conservation
Distribution
Endangered species
Female animals
Foraging
Foraging behavior
Grasses
Grasslands
Habitat
Habitat conservation
Habitat preferences
Habitat selection
Habitat utilization
Habitats
Harriers
Harriers (Birds)
Islands
Major s
Male animals
Males
Mowing
Nests
Ornithology
Protection and preservation
Shrublands
Spatial behavior in animals
Wildlife conservation
United States
Massachusetts
Nantucket Island
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Summary:The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is of major conservation and management concern in the northeastern United States. We studied habitat use of foraging adult male and female harriers on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts among four habitat types: grassland, shrubland, mowed, and burned. Overall, foraging indices were not correlated to nest proximity and harriers foraged significantly less frequently in mowed habitat than in the other habitat types. Management of harrier habitat in the northeastern United States may not exclusively require grasslands, and mowing reduces foraging habitat.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/09-015.1