Converse County Raptor Nest Surveys

This spring the research team completed aerial surveys across Converse County, Wyoming to locate and monitor all active raptor nests. Spring surveys involved two biologists flying over 200 hours in a fixed-wing aircraft searching for all raptor nests within the study area.

This year the team located 1,019 total raptor nests including 468 Ferruginous Hawk, 111 Red-tailed Hawk, and 109 Golden Eagle nests with 29% of the nests being occupied in 2025. Follow-up productivity aerial surveys were just completed to document the nest success rate of those 300 active nests. This study is part of a long-term monitoring project that provides vital information on the status of raptor populations in areas of oil & gas and wind energy development, and involves collaboration with multiple federal, state, and private organizations.