Sharp-shinned hawks nesting in the Pineywoods of eastern Texas and western Louisiana

Abstract

While monitoring the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) in eastern Texas and western Louisiana, the authors incidentally found nesting pairs of Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus). All nesting pairs were located in similar stands with an overstory of either longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), or a mix of loblolly (P. taeda) and shortleaf pine (P. echinata). Most of these areas were maintained by frequent prescribed burning and had an open understory of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Four of the five areas with hawk nests were on national forests and are managed for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker. The fifth area was on private timber industry land managed for timber production. These probably constitute the first confirmed nests ever of this species in the pineywoods region of eastern Texas and the first in many decades in the pineywoods region of western Louisiana.

Citation

Shackelford, Clifford E.; Saenz, Daniel; Schaefer, Richard R. 1996. Sharp-shinned hawks nesting in the Pineywoods of eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society. 29(1-2): 23-25.