Beck-Haas, Alison L.

Raptor rehabilitation: Banding data and Idaho manual. 1990.

The first section of this thesis is an analysis of records for diurnal 5846 birds of prey banded following rehabilitation were obtained from the bird Banding Lab, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There were 351 encounters with banded birds within that category, a rate of 6%. Numbers of birds banded and encountered increased dramatically from 1955 to 1988. Young of year comprised 31% of all birds banded. Species were banded in proportions representative of their commonness and distribution. In 85% of the encounters birds were recovered dead. Rates of encounter were similar for both sexes, but time elapsed from banding to encounter was significantly longer for females. Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), Bald Eagles (Haileaetus leucocephalus), and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) were encountered at higher rates than other species. Time elapsed from banding to encounter was significantly lower for Coopers Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) and Rough-legged Hawks (Buteo lagopus) than for other species. The period from banding to encounter was significantly longer than average for bald and golden eagles. The utility of banding and encounter data for assessing the success of released, rehabilitated birds of prey is discussed.

The second section of this thesis is an Idaho raptor rehabilitation manual. Raptor rehabilitators and resources agency personnel are the intended audience for the manual. It is a compilation of published and unpublished information relating to the care and treatment of sick and injured birds of prey. Chapters cover information on legalities, working with a veterinarian. equipment and facilities required, and methods of keeping records of rehabilitation activity. Illnesses and injuries and their treatment are described. Methods of conditioning and training birds are included, as are approaches to releasing recovered raptors.

Thesis

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