Broomfield Raptor Management Plan

Thank you for your inquiry about the Broomfield Raptor Management Plan. We would like to address this question directly, but will need a few more details. Could you please email openspace@broomfield.org with a more specific location of the area that you are referring to, as there are many Broomfield neighborhoods north of 144th Avenue. There has not been any decrease in designated open space north of 144th in Broomfield, but there are several development projects taking place on previously undeveloped land.

Yes, Peregrine Falcons are a species that can be found in Broomfield and they are listed in our full raptor management plan. They are not found in the breeding guide above as the table is an example of a breeding guide that will be included in the raptor plan in the sections concerning breeding. Peregrine Falcons will nest and dwell in cliff settings, so they are unlikely to breed in Broomfield. However, they will still use Broomfield Open Spaces to forage, so they are listed in our raptor management plan. The plan will not include all raptor species that could be encountered in Broomfield, but will make an effort to include species that 1) breed and 2) forage in Broomfield. Find more information on Peregrine Falcons here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/overview

Thank you for your comment, and sharing your experience with the nesting Harriers in your neighborhood. They are magnificant raptors and we are happy to hear of the positive impact that are having for your property and neighborhood. There are plans for widening and construction activities on Huron Street in this area, but that work would not begin until late 2023, at the earliest. There should be no impacts to the nesting season out there this year. When the construction project is slated to begin, there will be an environmental letter and review required before the work begins. Any surrounding nests will be identified and mitigation measures will take place if the nest is active to avoid impacts per State and Federal regulations.

Thank you very much for your question and interest in volunteering. We don't have a specific volunteer program for the raptor plan, but we do have some related volunteer opportunities. These volunteer opportunities include the Eagle Watch program, which provides monitoring of an active local bald eagle nest. Information on Eagle Watch and other volunteer opportunities can be found on our Open Space and Trails website. You can also contact Open Space and Trails staff directly by emailing openspace@broomfield.org.

The hawks and owls are pretty good at this already, although they can't always keep up with the rabbits! Hawks and owls both hunt primarily from above and use perches, so having trees and even rooftops with good sightlines helps. Also, the Broomfield Wildlife Masters have some good ideas and strategies to limit rabbits in lawns and gardens. They are local volunteers with lots of knowledge in answering backyard wildlife questions.

Thank you very much for this suggestion. We are discussing this with our project team and reviewing the ways that something like this can be accomplished. At this time we do have some elements of this in place, including mapping of many nesting sites, access to state mapping through Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and information provided by biologists that work on projects throughout our community. There is also a lot of information available on private online sites like eBird and iNaturalist (we do have our own page 'Broomfield Naturalists'). We are definitely interested in having 'citizen scientists' in Broomfield and increasing awareness and education around our local raptors. Two local opportunities that may be of interest are the Broomfield Bird Club, and the local Eagle Watch volunteer program.

Yes! We are working closely with the Birds of Prey Foundation on this project. We greatly value their input and have met with them about this plan (and we have delivered injured birds there ourselves). They are a key stakeholder in this process and we will continue to coordinate with their staff.

This plan will carefully review raptor habitat and buffer areas for nesting sites in Broomfield near development, but any legal constraints over future development is beyond the immediate scope of this plan, and would need to be coordinated within the framework of state and federal laws, zoning, and property development rights. The plan will assess habitat and attempt to identify the sources of conflict, injury, disease or general stress on raptors, and develop best management practices to reduce those conflicts and risks. Broomfield will also continue to seek to preserve or potentially acquire available land that offers quality raptor habitat areas when possible.

Yes, we have not seen screech owls nesting recently in Broomfield, but we certainly suspect that they do breed in the area and we do have sightings from time to time. The list here is definitely not inclusive of all raptors in Broomfield, but rather a list of the more common ones. We hope to see more screech owls, and that is a great question!