Subject: Swaison's Hawk (historically)
Date: Jul 12 11:48:09 1994
From: Michael Smith - whimbrel at u.washington.edu



I was surprised to read in Jewett the following about Swainson's Hawks:

"Breeds north to Bellingham, Barron (Whatcom Co.), ... west to Lake
Washington, and Westport."

He does mention that they are rare in western Washington, which was my
general understanding. Does anybody know if Swainson's Hawk distribution
was wider-ranging prior to 1953 than it is today? Or is this a case of
attributing a large breeding range to a few specimens (which may never
have been breeding).

When I bring up the BBA data on my computer, it shows no records at all
on the W-side.


Mike Smith
University of Washington
whimbrel at u.washington.edu