When driving on County Road 98 between Woodland and Davis you will spot a handful of birds scouring the landscape for their next meal. Many of these birds are Swainson’s hawks who thrive in the agricultural land of Yolo County.
The Swainson’s hawk was listed as a threatened species in 1983 by the California Fish and Game Commission due to their loss of foraging and nesting habitat and decreased population across the state. Important foraging areas have been developed and converted to urban landscapes at a rapid rate. These hawks are dependent on open agriculture land for survival. They typically nest in tall trees, often along riparian corridors, and forage on annual grasslands, annual croplands, and irrigated pastures.
Yolo Land Trust has collaborated with landowners across seventeen farms with conservation easements that uphold values to protect the habitat Swainson’s hawks are dependent on. In 1996, YLT acquired its first conservation easement on prime agriculture land that specifically protects wildlife habitat of significant importance to the Swainson’s hawk population. Eight of these seventeen conservation easement farms are in the Davis-Woodland Corridor, with the next largest concentration in Southeast Davis with six farms and irrigated pastures.
Generally, a Swainson’s hawk wildlife habitat conservation easement must follow specific provisions to ensure the growth of the species. These provisions include – no orchards, vines, rice or feed lots, tall structures row crops (sunflowers, corn) only in standard rotation, no removal of native trees, shrubs, etc. within the riparian area, and no use of rodenticides on the property.
Yolo County is a great home for Swainson’s hawks due to its warmer climate and extensive agriculture land. This time of year, the Swainson’s hawks return to the site of their nest from the previous year to begin rebuilding their nest to care for their eggs. These raptors have adapted to open grasslands and are reliant upon fields of farmed row crops (alfalfa, wheat, tomatoes) and irrigated pastureland because this is where the highest volume of prey is found.
Keep your eyes open for these hawks as you travel around Yolo County this time of year and know that by supporting YLT you are also allowing this species to regain its population and be an integral part of our local ecosystem!
If you want to be a part of the solution to save wildlife habitat for these majestic raptors, donate to YLT today! Now through May 4, 2023 YLT is participating in Big Day of Giving. Big Day of Giving is a regional fundraising campaign bringing together over 760 Sacramento region nonprofits to raise funds to support the important work each nonprofit does in the community.
Learn more and donate here: www.bigdayofgiving.org/yololandtrust
Audubon’s field guide to Swainson’s Hawks: www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/swainsons-hawk
