Prairie and Peregrine Falcon Occupancy and Productivity Monitoring at Pinnacles National Park, n2013 Annual Report.

摘要

Pinnacles National Park (“Pinnacles”) is a National Park Service (NPS) unit located in the Gabilan Mountains of central California, and was legislatively converted from a national monument to a national park in January 2013. Pinnacles provides a diverse habitat for cliff-nesting raptor species, including sensitive species such as prairie falcons (Falco mexicanus), peregrine falcons (F. peregrinus), and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). The dramatic landscapes, extensive trails, arrays of summits, and cliff-wall routes at Pinnacles are also used intensively for recreation by rock-climbers and hikers. Because prairie falcons nest in the Pinnacles cliffs and in sufficient density to track trends in reproduction over time, this species is the central focus of the monitoring program. Additionally, peregrine falcons are documented in this report because they occupy the same nest habitat and are direct competitors to prairie falcons. Other raptor species in the park either nest in forested habitats or do not nest in sufficient densities within the park to warrant a similar level of monitoring effort.