Laserfiche WebLink
Swainson's hawks prefer nesting sites that provide sweeping views of nearby <br /> foraging grounds consisting of grasslands, irrigated pasture, hay, and wheat <br /> crops. Most Swainson's hawks are migratory, wintering in Mexico and breeding in <br /> California and elsewhere in the western United States. This raptor generally <br /> arrives in the Central Valley in mid-March, and begins courtship and nest <br /> construction immediately upon arrival at the breeding sites. The young fledge in <br /> early July, and most Swainson's hawks leave their breeding territories by late <br /> August. <br /> The CNDDB (2021) contains several records of nesting Swainson's hawk in the <br /> greater project vicinity with a few records within a mile of the site. The nearest <br /> record is within a cluster of trees just southwest of the site, west of Pock Lane. <br /> This record mentions two large stick nests observed in a tree cluster and <br /> successful fledgling in 2007. Due to Swainson's hawks' high nest site affinity, it <br /> is likely Swainson's hawks have returned to this nesting territory in recent years. <br /> There are a few potential nest trees associated with the residence in the <br /> northwest part of the site and the disked grassland field in the body of the site <br /> provides foraging habitat for Swainson's hawk. <br /> All of the trees in the site and trees viewable from the site were scanned with <br /> binoculars for raptor stick nests, but several of the trees had dense tree canopies <br /> making them difficult to comprehensively inspect. No Swainson's hawks were <br /> observed perching in trees or flying over the site during the field surveys, which <br /> were conducted toward the end of the nesting season of this species. There are <br /> several potential nest trees within residences and parcels in close proximity to <br /> the site and annual cropland and grasslands in the region provide suitable <br /> foraging habitat for this species. Swainson's hawks could potentially utilize trees <br /> in or near the site for nesting in future years. <br /> The project will participate in the San Joaquin County Multi-Species Habitat <br /> Conservation and Open Space Plan (HCP) (SJCOG, 2000). The HCP involves <br /> payment of fees and compliance with standard Incidental Take Minimization <br /> 2706 Pock Lane: Biology 20 November 23, 2021 <br />