Wildlife on the Brink: Queen Charlotte Goshawk

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Accipiter gentilis laingi

STATUS: Under review for threatened listing

HABITAT: Dense temperate rainforest

LIFE HISTORY: Smallest and darkest of the northern goshawks. Breeding pairs build between three and nine nests in their home range, but only defend one; extra nests provide important nest sites for other species.

THREATS: Depletion of old-growth forest habitat due to logging

RANGE: Coastal areas of southeastern Alaska, British Columbia and the Olympic Peninsula

CURRENT POPULATION: 200-500 breeding pairs

Goshawks—large and marvelously ferocious woodland raptors—have evolved short, powerful wings and a long rudderlike tail that allows them to zip through dense forest canopies with incredible speed and maneuverability in pursuit of songbirds, squirrels and other prey. Many goshawk populations are in decline as their habitat falls under the chainsaw; one of the rarest subspecies is the Queen Charlotte goshawk of southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia.

In Alaska's Tongass National Forest, clearcutting is threatening the birds' survival. Breeding pairs seek out old-growth conifers to build their three-foot-wide nests and raise their young; and in clearcuts, among widely spaced trees, and outside the forest canopy, the goshawk's superb aerial acrobatics are no longer a competitive advantage. Forced to roam further in search of undisturbed old-growth forest, many goshawks cannot forage widely enough to support their young.

Timber interests stymied earlier efforts to protect the Queen Charlotte goshawk under the Endangered Species Act. NRDC is joining forest and wildlife conservation groups in a renewed effort to ensure the survival of this fiercely wild bird.

Photo: Queen Charlotte goshawk © Richard Lowell