Spatial and Temporal Variation in Reproductive Rates of the Red-Shouldered Hawk in Suburban and Rural Ohio

Abstract

Abstract. We measured the reproductive rate of Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) nesting in suburban southwestern Ohio and in a rural forested region in Hocking Hills, southeastern Ohio, from 1997 to 2005. In the suburban region, the reproductive rate varied greatly from nest to nest, less so from year to year, indicating that some nest areas consistently produced more young than others. The most productive 25% of nest areas produced 44% of all the nestlings in the study, whereas the least productive 25% of nest areas produced only 7% of all nestlings. In the rural area, the reproductive rate varied significantly from year to year, less so from nest area to nest area. Overall reproductive rates in the two study areas differed only in 2000. We suggest that differences among the nest areas in reproductive rate likely indicate differences in habitat quality of individual nest areas, whereas differences among years likely reflect regional factors that influence nesting birds, such as weather.