Efficacy of mitigation translocation from Anchorage, Alaska airfields for short-eared owls and red-tailed hawks

Abstract Background Mitigation translocation is widely used at airfields to reduce wildlife-aircraft strike risk, yet few studies have evaluated its effectiveness for raptors, and none have been conducted in Alaska. We assessed post-release return rates for red-tailed hawks ( Buteo jamaicensis ; RTHA) and short-eared owls ( Asio flammeus ; SEOW) translocated from three airfields in Anchorage, Alaska, USA, from 2021 to 2025. We fitted satellite transmitters to 9 RTHAs and 33 SEOWs, enabling detailed monitoring (2 h intervals for RTHA and 2–24 h intervals for SEOW) and eliminating detection bias in assessing return behavior. We evaluated the influence of species, age class, and season of capture on return rates using chi-square tests of independence. Results We documented return of 4 adult RTHAs, all of which returned to their capture airfield within one week of release. No SEOWs (0 of 33) returned or were recaptured. Species was the only significant predictor of return status and return rates of RTHAs did not differ by sex, season of capture, or airfield. Conclusions These results suggest that RTHAs in Alaska may exhibit movement or site-fidelity dynamics that differ from those reported in lower-latitude populations. In contrast, the absence of SEOW returns indicates that mitigation translocation may be a particularly effective non-lethal management tool for this declining and increasingly strike-prone species. Together, our findings provide the first empirical evaluation of raptor translocation outcomes in Alaska and offer guidance for wildlife–aircraft strike mitigation strategies in northern environments.