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Posted on: August 08, 2017
Research on the Kaibab has shown that goshawks, predators of birds and small mammals, are strongly food-limited. The local suite of prey depends on the amount, quality, and intermixture of the particular habitats needed by each prey. These include a fine-scale mix of small groups of mature trees with interlocking crowns for tree squirrels, woodpeckers, grouse, and other birds, and scattered, small grass-forb openings for rabbits, ground squirrels, grouse, and other prey. Interestingly, this habitat mix characterized the natural conditions of the ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests on the Kaibab Plateau before initiation of fire suppression and organized tree harvests.