BIRDS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER VALLEY 



53 



Northern Goshawk {Accipiter gentilis) 



Status: Regular migrant and winter resident, casual nesting species. 



Migration: Rare migrant throughout the Valley. Most regularly observed in 

 the forested areas of the Northern Highland and Central Plain, casual in the 

 Western Upland. Fall migrants begin to arrive in mid-September and are 

 most conspicuous from mid-October to mid-December. Spring migration 

 begins in late February with dispersal toward nesting areas. Goshawks are 

 most conspicuous in spring 15 March to 10 April and have departed by 

 30 April. 



Nesting Season Distribution: One nesting record for Burnett County; an 

 adult incubating during May 1973 (W. Norling). A nest at Camp Wilder, 

 Washington County, in 1967, was abandoned because of excessive human 

 activity in the immediate area (Huber 1967). Numerous sight records, pri- 

 marily from the Northern Highland, indicate that additional nesting records 

 are probable. 



Winter: Rare to uncommon winter resident throughout the Valley. Most fre- 

 quently observed in the heavily forested Northern Highland. 



Habitat: The Burnett County nest was in mixed jack pine-oak habitat. 

 Additional nesting season records have been obtained from mature North- 

 ern Hardwood Forest, mixed coniferous forest, and jack pine-oak habitat. 



Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 



Status: Regular migrant, nesting species, and winter resident. 



Migration: Uncommon spring and fairly common fall migrant throughout 

 the Valley. Occasionally 30 to 40 migrant sharp-shinned hawks can be ob- 

 served per day along the St. Croix River. Spring migration begins in mid- 

 March; largest numbers occur 10-25 April. Most birds have arrived on nest- 

 ing territories by 10 May. Fall migration begins in mid-August and peak 

 numbers are reached 10 September to 10 October. Most have departed by 

 15 November. 



Nesting Season Distribution: Uncommon to rare during the nesting season 

 in the Central Plain and Northern Highland. Although this hawk is regularly 

 observed during the nesting season, only one nest has been found. On 

 23 May 1976, I found one sharp-shinned hawk nest in the McKenzie Creek 

 Wildlife Area, Polk County. Other observers, primarily Jackson (1941) and 

 Bernard (1967) have recorded this species during the nesting season but 

 failed to find a nest. In the Minnesota counties. Green and Janssen (1975) 

 stated that during the summer this hawk is "most numerous in the north 

 central, northeastern . . . regions." 



Winter: Uncommon to rare winter resident in the Western Upland and Cen- 

 tral Plain. Casual in midwinter in the Northern Highland. Three were ob- 

 served on Solon Springs (Douglas County) CBC on 30 December 1973. 



Habitat: The Polk County nest was situated about 4.6 m from the ground in 

 an aspen tree. Surrounding vegetation consisted of young as- 



