Wildlife Specialist report

2008). The GBMA is primarily managed to enhance habitat conditions for birds. Since
2004 the Keller Canyon site has not had livestock grazing in this area.
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Summary - Analyzing the change in miles of roads
within 100 meters of occupied sites, and within 100 meters of designated critical habitat
will be the indicator that is used to analyze the potential for harvest and disturbance to the
SWWF under the different alternatives.
Northern Gray hawk (Forest Service Sensitive Species Representative of Low to
Middle Elevation Riparian Vegetation Cover Type) - Gray hawks inhabit lowland
riparian woodlands, desert riparian deciduous woodland, and marshes (NatureServe
Explorer 2009). Woodlands, especially of cottonwoods, that occur where desert streams
provide sufficient moisture for a narrow band of trees and shrubs along the margins are
preferred (NatureServe explorer 2009). In New Mexico the species was reported in the
Gila and Mimbres valleys and once at San Simon Cienaga, Hidalgo Co. (Hubbard et al.,
1977). If one accepts alleged records of eggs or young from the Grant County area as an
indication of this species' former status, recent data suggest that this breeding population
has now become extirpated. However, occasional birds are still reported in the state,
presumably as stragglers from Arizona, Texas, or Mexico (BISON-M 2009).
Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Forest Service Sensitive Species Representative of
Low to Middle Elevation Riparian Vegetation Cover Type) - Yellow-billed Cuckoo
occupies a wide array of vegetation types across its large geographic range, but generally
prefers open woodland with clearings and low, dense, scrubby vegetation. In the
southwestern United States, it is most associated with riparian woodlands dominated by
Fremont cottonwood or dense mesquite. Cuckoos prefer mature or late-successional
cottonwood/willow associations with a dense understory. In parts of the west, they also
breed in orchards adjacent to river bottoms. Habitat in New Mexico may be primarily
native, mixed native and exotic, or primarily exotic plant species, the latter including
riparian salt cedar, orchards, and ornamental/shade plantings (Bison-M). In New
Mexico, Yellow-billed Cuckoos breed along the major river valleys, including the San
Juan, Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Francisco, and Gila Rivers (Howe 1986). The
species also occurs in numerous smaller drainages plus isolated wetlands, isolated
woodlands, and suburban plantings. It is found statewide but is far more common in the
southern half of New Mexico (Bison- M).
Arizona Bell’s Vireo (Forest Service Sensitive Species Representative of Low to
Middle Elevation Riparian Vegetation Cover Type) - Across its range, Bell's Vireo
breeds in dense, lowland shrub and understory vegetation, including riparian areas,
second-growth forests and mesquite brushlands (NM Partners in Flight Online Resource
2009). Dense shrubby vegetation appears to be a fundamental requirement of Bell's
Vireo habitat; overhead canopy cover, patch size, and proximity to water may also be
important (NM Partners in Flight Online Resource 2009). The subspecies V. b. arizonae
summers locally in the lower Gila Valley and in Guadalupe Canyon (Hidalgo Co.), with
occasional birds in the lower San Francisco Valley and at San Simon Cienaga in Hidalgo
Co. Bell's vireos summer locally in the south northward to the lower Gila, lower and
middle Rio Grande and lower Pecos valleys -- occasionally north in the lower San
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