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Hawk Gawking By Mark McKellar
Just because hawks are often highly visible, doesn’t mean that they are easy to identify. I always hear beginning bird watchers swear off sparrows, shorebirds and gulls. “I will tackle those ID’s after I have been at it a while longer.” Try your hand at identifying hawks in flight on a busy day. I would advise taking on the sparrows first. Luckily, the vast majority of large hawks you see are Red-tailed Hawks, small ones are generally American Kestrels and really big ones are Bald Eagles. During the short spring and fall migration seasons, the crow-sized Broad-winged Hawk can be numerous. Most red-taileds are brown backed with a white chest and dark or broken belly band. That being said, they can range in color from almost all white to almost all black. To further confuse matters, young birds don’t have the famous red tail. One good thing is that the only other hawk of their size that occurs here with any regularity is the Rough-legged Hawk. It is only here in winter and only in small numbers. There are three smaller “hawks” that we see in winter. The most visible is actually a falcon. The colorful American Kestrel is quite commonly seen hovering along our roadsides and will occasionally take a bird from our feeder station. The hawks that are much better known for doing this are the Sharp-shinned and Coopers’ Hawks. One old time name for these speedsters are blue darters. Fall and early winter are the best times for viewing hawks in our area. I highly recommend a leisurely drive through the country (where it is safe to slow down and hopefully stop) to study our winter raptors. You can proudly proclaim yourself a Hawk Gawker too. |
Immature Red-tailed Hawks are quite common in our area during late fall and early winter. |
BACKYARD BIRD CENTER (816) 746-1113 info@backyardbirdcenterKC.com 6212 NW Barry Road • Kansas City, Missouri • 64154 [ BACK TO TOP ] |
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