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Great Valley according to their suitability as Swainson's hawk foraging habitat. We <br /> consider seasonal wetlands to be as significant for Swainson's hawks as alfalfa fields. <br /> Orchards and vineyards, (widespread around the Buckeye Ranch) are not suitable habitat <br /> for Swainson's hawk. Structurally these habitats mimic dense woodlands, and <br /> shrublands. Due to their aerial hunting habitats, Swainson's hawks are unable to forage <br /> within this type of cover. <br /> Swainson's Hawk Status at Buckeye Ranch <br /> Guse (1990) and the Supplemental Biotics Survey (1992) outline the reported nests along <br /> the Mokelumne River and Dry Creek. The Cosumnes Preserve supported two Swainson's <br /> hawk nest sites in 1990 (Sacramento County Breeding Bird Atlas, in prep). The Buckeye <br /> Ranch habitat is within the foraging range for all of these birds. However, the population <br /> on Dry Creek and the Cosumnes have access to several thousand acres of non-irrigated <br /> pasture along the Cosumnes River. Bottomland habitat along the Cosumnes also supports <br /> foraging Swainson's hawks. Protection of the Cosumnes corridor has become a priority <br /> for several conservation organizations, state, county and federal agencies. The pastures <br /> and row crop lands between the Mokelumne River and Dry Creek near the Buckeye Ranch <br /> remain the single most critical habitat for foraging raptors nesting on the ranch. <br /> Impacts of the Project <br /> Forest Clearing: Minimal Negative Impact <br /> The forest type cleared for two fairways was predominantly dense live oak woodland, a <br /> habitat not known to support nesting Swainson's hawks. The single pair that nested, did <br /> so in an emergent Fremont cottonwood growing in a low swale. To our knowledge no <br /> Buckeye Ranch Resource Plan (November, 1993) <br /> 118 <br />