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• The peregrine falcon is a rare breeder and winter visitor to northwestern <br />Colorado, and may occasionally be present as a migrant (Kingery and Graul <br />1978). The CDOW (1978) has designated certain areas within this section of <br />the state (including portions of the Colorado River and its tributaries) as <br />essential hunting and nesting habitat for peregrines (Figure 4-5). Nests <br />typically occur in large cavities or recesses in cliff faces (Snow 1972). <br />Key peregrine hunting areas are those in which small to moderately-sized <br />prey (jays, nutcrackers, doves, flickers) are concentrated or especially <br />vulnerable to predation. Such habitats include riparian areas, wetlands, <br />and pastureland (CDOW 1978). <br />The peregrine falcon has recently (1983-1985) been confirmed as a breeder <br />in the Dinosaur National Monument (Kruger 1985), and occurs infrequently in <br />the White River Resource Area (BLM 1980) which encompasses the study area. <br />BLM (1976) reported peregrine falcon sightings near Mount Streeter <br />(immediately north of the study area, shown on Figure 4-5) in the <br />Good Spring Creek drainage during the summers of 1974 and 1975. Peregrines <br />• are known to hunt as far as 16 km (10 mi) from their nests (CDOW 19781, <br />however no active nest sites are known from the vicinity of the study area <br />and the potential for their presence is therefore limited primarily to <br />migration (spring and fall). No peregrine falcons were seen during ground <br />or aerial surveys of the study area or vicinity during 1983-1985. <br />The federally-endangered whooping crane and state-endangered greater <br />sandhill crane migrate through the western half of Colorado (CDOW 1978). <br />The primary staging area of migrating whooping and sandhill cranes in the <br />state is in the San Luis Valley (south-central Colorado). Whooping cranes <br />have occasionally been observed in northwest Colorado in the company of <br />greater sandhill cranes during spring and fall migrations (ECI 1976, Green <br />1981, BLM 1981) between Grays Lake, Idaho and Bosque del Apache, New <br />Mexico. Key staging areas for these species are generally found along <br />large rivers where small grain crops are available as food (CDOW 1978). <br />They are not known to stop or rest in the resource area during migration, <br />except when forced down by adverse weather conditions (BLM 1980). While <br />• sandhill cranes may be seen in agricultural areas along the White River, <br />the potential for their occurrence (on the ground) within the study area is <br />unlikely. <br />4-24 <br />