Goshawk

__**Goshawks**

Common name:__ Northern Goshawk __Scientific name:__ Accipiter gentillis

__Type of animal:__ Vertebrate - bird

__Habitat:__ Northern goshawks can be found in coniferous and deciduous forests. During their nesting period, they prefer mature forests consisting of a combination of old, tall trees with intermediate canopy coverage and small open areas within the forest for foraging. During the cold winter months they migrate to warmer areas, usually at lower elevations.

__Range:__ Northern goshawks are found throughout the mountains and forests of North America and Eurasia. In North America they range from western central Alaska and the Yukon territories in the north to the mountains of northwestern and western Mexico. They are typically not found in the southeastern United States.

__Physical characteristics:__ A raptor with short broad wings, and a long tail. Male: Blue-grey coloring. 49-57cm long with a wingspan of 98-204cm. Female: 58-64cm long with a wingspan of 108-127cm. Goshawks average lifespan is about 10.7 months. The maximum is around 11 years. (Estimated)

__Diet:__ Northern goshawks are carnivorous, mainly consuming birds, mammals, invertebrates, and reptiles of moderate to large size. Individual prey items can weigh up to half the weight of the goshawk. The content of an individual goshawks diet depends upon the environment in which that goshawk live. The average diet consists of 21% to 59% mammals and 18% to 69% birds, with the remaining percentages being made up of reptiles and invertebrates. Goshawks are efficient forest predators, feeding on game birds, rabbits and various rodents.

__Behavior and adaptations:__ Northern goshawks are highly territorial and a mating pair will advertise their nesting territory by performing an elaborate aerial display before and during nest construction and/or repair. If their nesting area is encroached upon, they will defend it fiercely. Northern goshawks live alone or in pairs and are diurnal. Most goshawk populations are sedentary and they typically remain in their nesting areas throughout their lives. Only goshawks that breed in the north and northwestern parts of North America are migratory. They fly south during the winter months and then return to their nesting areas in the spring.

__Reproduction:__ Female goshawks will attract males in the area by either performing dramatic aerial displays and vocalizing/perching in the nesting area and vocalizing. When a mate is found, the two begin to construct/repair their nest. During this time, the pair will copulate many times a day, sometimes as many as 518 times per clutch.

__Relationship to people:__ The encroachment of civilization has forced the goshawk into more remote parts of Alberta.

__Status:__ Common (least concern) [Bad news] Because northern goshawks are threatened in some areas, conservation measures to protect them may negatively impact the logging industry. [Good news] Northern goshawks help to control populations of small mammal pests.

__History:__ It supposedly became extinct 100 years ago and sporadic breeding started about 70 years ago — fuelled by deliberate releases and escaped falconer's birds. Certainly by 25 years ago the real population was probably quite a bit bigger than the official 'the total certainly exceeds ten pairs'. Now it is breeding very widely through Wales, possibly 150 or more pairs by now, and the situation in Scotland is not much different. In England the distribution is more patchy as the extensive woodland they need is a rarer resource. Maturing conifer forests will inevitably be colonised. They were lost from Ireland with the clearance of the forest 200 years ago but a pair nested recently in the North. Illegal persecution is the main problem.

__Sources:__
 * Wikipedia Online
 * http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Accipiter_gentilis.html
 * http://www.birdcare.com/bin/showsonb?goshawk

__**OTHER:**__
 * Did you know that the Northern Goshawk is the largest of its species??
 * Did you know that male and female goshawks typically maintain a life-long pair bond? And only upon death of one goshawk, the other will seek out a new mate?
 * Did you know that northern goshawks are considered "management indicators" in many national forests?? They are considered "sensitive to change", and their well being often can provide clues to problems with habitat change. TRUE STORY!!
 * Did you know that goshawks often take poultry and can be a persistent problem near farms??