Organochlorine and mercury residues in Swainson's hawk eggs from the Pacific Northwest

Abstract

Many raptorial species in the Pacific Northwest have not been studied from the viewpoint of pollutant contamination. The Swainson's Hawk ( Buteo swainsoni ) is particularly interesting because of its highly migratory characteristic; it apparently winters primarily in Argentina (Brown and Amadon 1968, Houston 1968). White and Cade (1977) and others have suggested Central America and South America as possible sources of pesticide contamination for wintering raptors from North America. The spraying of DDT in the Northwest in 1974 provided the opportunity to study several forest-dwelling raptors (Henny 1977); and in 1976, we made a special effort to collect a series of eggs of Swainson's Hawks from northeastern Oregon (some adjacent to the area sprayed with DDT in 1974) and southeastern Washington. This study was undertaken to determine organochlorine pesticide and other pollutant burdens in the Swainson's Hawk.