Nesting Status and Food of the Golden Eagle in Northern Colorado

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/t722h905m

Abstract

The nesting sites of fifteen pairs of Golden Eagles were investigated in an area about fifteen miles wide and eighty miles long in the eastern foothills of northern Colorado. In 1943 thirteen of these pairs were known to be nesting, and it was believed that the population of the birds had not changed much in over fifty years. However, in 1954 only six pairs of birds were found to be nesting; it is possible that a seventh pair also nested. The results clearly indicate that the nesting of the Golden Eagle has been reduced by half in the past eleven years. A food count made on five of the nests showed that the major portion of the diet of these birds consists of mammals, a conclusion reached by other observers who have studied these birds. However, other studies have shown that the Jack Rabbit is most frequently taken by eagles, while the present count shows that Cottontails made up 58 animals counted. Other animals taken by the foothills-nesting eagles are: Jack Rabbit, Prairie Dog, Black-tailed Deer, Fox Squirrel, Muskrat, Striped Ground Squirrel, Pheasant, Magpie, Mallard, Downy Woodpecker, and Horned Owl. This abstract of about 250 words is approved as to form and content. I recommend its publication.

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