I support this proposal…

I support this proposal. Over the past 8 years I have come to know many falconers in Ontario and elsewhere. They are extremely knowledgable and dedicated conservationists. This proposal will make falconry and falconers better by ensuring that more people are able to get native birds. This is especially important for apprentices, all of whom will have an opportunity to start with a wild red-tailed hawk if this proposal is adopted.

The proposal is very conservative and sustainable. It is unfortunate, however that it did not include any statistics on the current rates of application or capture by falconers. This could lead to the misunderstanding that if there are 200 falconers then 200 birds will be taken every year. Of course this is not the case. Currently in Ontario only 55-60 of the 200+ licensed falconers apply for the draw, and many of these only because they were not successful in the draw the previous year(s). The California Department of Fish and Wildlife published an incredibly thorough examination of falconry from 2006-2010. Under their laws every falconer is permitted to take up to 2 birds from the wild per year. The 575 licensed falconers could have taken 1150 birds per year, but in fact took only 108 on average. If we apply these rates to Ontario, one could expect in the neighbourhood of 38 birds captured per year. This is a very modest increase from the current scheme but will result in a much better allocation of opportunities and birds.

In addition, I believe the proposal is very sustainable and justified by the available data. Hawk migration counts are highly stochastic and cannot be used on a short basis. Nevertheless, long term trends published on the Hawk Mountain website show strong increases for the raptor species of interest. In addition, migration patterns have changed over the decades as more raptors overwinter in northern areas. Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count show steady increases since 2000 in merlins, red-tailed hawks and Cooper’s Hawks over-wintering in Ontario.

None of the species of interest have been assigned to any risk category by COSEWIC or the NHIC. Several species, such as the Cooper’s hawk, sharp-shinned hawk and merlin have experienced significant increases in population since the 1980s (Cadman et al, 2007, Farmer et al, 2008). The others have been essentially stable (Farmer et al, 2008, Kirk et al 1998, Sutherland 2000). In Ontario, all of these species are listed as “widespread and common”, or “widespread and uncommon” (Sutherland 2000). Cooper’s Hawks increased substantially between the 1st and 2nd Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) projects. Increases were especially strong in the south (10x) and central Ontario (4x) and they are considered fairly common to locally common in the province (Gahbauer 2007b). Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and migration data provide consistent evidence of strong growth across northeastern North America and available habitat may now be saturated in some areas (Farmer et al, 2008).

Sharp-shinned hawks experienced only modest declines during the DDT era and migration counts since then show mixed trends across eastern North America, (Farmer et al, 2008). BBS, CBC and migration data however indicate a generally increasing or stable population (Kirk 1997). In the 2nd BBA sharp-shinned hawks increased 400% in southern Ontario, 68% in central Ontario and were stable in the north (Gahbauer 2007a). Sharp-shinned hawks are the second most abundant hawk in Canada (Kirk 1997) and almost 10,000 were counted in 2010 at Holiday Beach in southern Ontario (HMANA 2011).

Merlins have also demonstrated “tremendous growth in all regions” of Ontario and were detected in 1110 BBA squares, a 420% increase from the 1980s (Gahbauer 2007c). Migration, BBS and CBC data also indicates that merlin populations have increased dramatically in the last 20-30 years (Farmer et al 2008).

Goshawks are a largely non-migratory species with a cyclical dependency on prey populations, especially in the north (Kirk and Hyslop 1998). Migration data is limited and inconsistent. There is no hard evidence that goshawks declined during the DDT era (Duncan and Kirk 1995). They appeared to have remained stable or increased slightly in the Great Lakes region (Farmer et al 2008). The BBA shows significant increases in southern and central Ontario and “effort-adjusted” declines in the north (Bush 2007). The northern population has been estimated at 5000 pairs (Duncan and Kirk 1995) and the southern population at 500 to 2000 pairs (Kirk 1995).

Red-tailed hawks are one of the most widespread and common hawks in North America. The world-wide population estimate is >1,000,000, and it is a commonly observed raptor in southern Ontario. Red-tailed hawk populations are considered to be secure. In eastern North America there have been some declines in migration counts, but simultaneous increases in Breeding Bird Surveys and Christmas Bird Counts suggest that the migration trends are the result of changes in migratory behaviour rather than actual population declines (Farmer et al 2008).

Anyone who examines this data will come to the same conclusion I have: this proposal should be adopted. Falconry is not a threat to raptor populations and falconers are active in raptor conservation. That is why nearly every other jurisdiction in North America has already implemented similar proposals.

References:
Cadman, M.D., P.F.J. Eagles, F.M. Helliener, 1987. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario. University of Waterloo Press.

Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. LePage, A.R. Couturier (eds). 2007. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Nature, Toronto.

Duncan, P., and D.A. Kirk. 1995. Status report in the Queen Charlotte Goshawk Accipiter gentiles laingi and the Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentiles atricapillus in Canada. Committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada, Ottawa.

Farmer, C.J., L.J. Goodrich, E. Ruelas Inzunza, and J.P. Smith. 2008. Conservation status of North America's birds of prey. Pp. 303-419 in K.L. Bildstein, J.P. Smith, E. Ruelas Inzunza, and R.R. Veit (eds.), State of North America's birds of prey. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Gahbauer, M.A. 2007a Sharp-shinned Hawk pp. 174-175 in Cadman, M.D. 2007, D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Courturier, eds. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005, Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto

Gahbauer, M.A. 2007b Cooper’s Hawk pp. 176-177 in Cadman, M.D. 2007, D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Courturier, eds. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005, Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto

Gahbauer, M.A. 2007c Merlin pp. 192-193 in Cadman, M.D. 2007, D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Courturier, eds. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005, Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto

HMANA 2011, Hawk Migration Association of North America 2011 P.O. Box 721, Plymouth, NH 03264 http://www.hmana.org accessed on March19, 2011

Kirk, D. A. 1995. Forest Management and the Northern Goshawk (Accipter gentiles) with Special Reference to Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Central Region Science and Technology Unit, North Bay.

Kirk, D.A. 1996. Updated status report on the Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii in Canada. Committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada, Ottawa

Kirk, D.A., Hyslop C. 1998. Population status and recent trends in Canadian raptors: a review. Biological Conservation 83:91-118

Millsap, B. A. and G. T. Allen. 2006. Effects of Falconry Harvest on Wild Raptor Populations in the U.S.: Theoretical Considerations and Likely Consequences. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:1392-1400.