BALD HILLS PRAIRIES RAPTOR SURVEY IN REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Schmidt, Kristin

2012 Annual report of raptors in the Bald Hill Prairie of Redwood National Park. Annual raptor surveys of the Bald Hills began in 1998. There are 32 survey stations located in the Prairies from Gans Prairie in the west to Coyote Creek/Eastside prairie in the east. Raptors, ravens, crows and mammalian predators (coyote, gray fox and bobcat) are counted.Ten surveys were conducted in 2012; no surveys took place in April and December. The total number of raptor observations in 2012 was 107, consisting of 178 individuals, with common ravens constituting the vast majority of >1 bird in a single observation.The total number of raptor observations in 2012 was 107, consisting of 178 individuals, with common ravens constituting the vast majority of >1 bird in a single observation. The number of observations was comparable to last year’s number (110) and was again higher than the high number of observations in 2008 (91) for the 4-year period between 2006-2009. The number of individuals counted increased by 21; just above the number recorded in 2010 (170).