Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, is in search of Pennsylvania farmers and rural land owners willing to help four farm-friendly raptors. In the spotlight are three species in sharp decline: the Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl and Northern Harrier, as well as the American Kestrel, a species that is still common but has shown a steady drop in populations.

The Barn Owl is classified ‘near threatened’ in Pennsylvania, while the Short-eared Owl is endangered. Just this year the Northern Harrier was down-listed from a ‘species of special concern’ to ‘threatened,’ and migration counts show that American Kestrel populations are experiencing a consistent and steady drop.

In response, Sanctuary biologists with support from the Wild Resource Conservation Program have launched the Pennsylvania Farmland Raptor Project to build a network of farm-based partners to help watch for and report any of the four species. Results will help to better gauge distribution across the state and to learn more about the birds and their conservation needs.

First Hawk Mountain hopes that farmers and rural landowners will join the new network by signing up through their website, calling the Sanctuary or sending an email. Then, the non-profit will provide participants with more information on the birds and what they look like. Finally, participants simply report when and where they see any of the four species and every participant will receive a participatory gift. 

Other ways landowners can help is to provide nestboxes for the American Kestrel and the Barn Owl—two cavity nesters—or to maintain large areas of untouched property for ground nesting species like the Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl. Another option is for landowners to hold off mowing large areas of grassland and pasture until late summer when ground nesters have finished laying eggs and young have left the nest.

Pennsylvania residents who own or work on more than 10 acres of farm or grasslands and wish to join the Farmland Raptor Network or learn more about how to identify and conserve the four species is available online, send email to: info@hawkmountain.org with subject line “Farmland Raptors,” or call 610-756-6961.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey, an international center for raptor conservation and research, and operates a 2,500-acre wildlife sanctuary open to the public year round.

6/18/2012