28 

 amount of woody vegetation in an area, a situation 

 that is not conducive to Ferruginous Hawk foraging 

 (Lewis Myers, pers. coinin.)* Locations on the 

 Dillon Resource Area that may be appropriate for 

 such a project are the Sage Creek area where 

 Ferruginous Hawks are concentrated and the Matador 

 Cattle Company grazes cattle on public land (Jim 

 Roscoe, pers. comm.) and the Frying Pan Basin 

 area. 



2. Prey populations should be assessed . I observed 

 what appeared to be a gradient of prey abundance, 

 especially ground squirrels, from the Centennial 

 Valley (high abundance) north to the apparently 

 drier areas west of Dillon (low abundance) . Does 

 this apparent gradient correspond with a gradient 

 of Ferruginous Hawk nesting density, nest success, 

 and productivity? 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

 I would like to thank Geoff FitzGerald for excellent 

 and tireless assistance in the field, especially on those 

 days we spent racing lightning storms. Thanks to Jim Roscoe 

 of the Dillon Resource Area for very worthwhile logistical 

 support throughout the study and to Dave Center (Montana 

 Natural Heritage Program) for giving me the opportunity to 

 return to Montana in addition to critical reviewing 

 manuscripts and supporting my endeavors. Marco Restani 

 introduced me to the Ferruginous Hawks of the Centennial 



