![]() This slim, longed-tailed hawk can be seen gliding low over grassland or marshes. ![]() Those in the middle of the range remain all year. Accessible at Northern Harriers that breed in Alaska, Canada, the northern Great Plains, and the Northeast before migrating south for the winter to southern states, Mexico and Central America. Northern Harriers are slender with long broad wings and are between the size of a crow and a goose. They often fly with the tips of their wings higher than their bodies in a v-shape.įemales are brown, and males are gray above and white below, and they have a white rump patch.Ĭredit: James Bradley, XC326879. They are more commonly spotted during the breeding season, from April to October, then they fly south for the winter. Northern Harriers are the fourth most frequently spotted hawks in Wisconsin, and they are recorded in 2% of the summer checklists and 1% of winter checklists. They lay 2-6 pale blue to bluish-white eggs. They feed on medium-sized birds and small mammals and nest in tall trees, often on top of an old nest of a large bird or clump of mistletoe. Look out for them at the edge of forests, but they can also be seen at feeders looking for an easy meal. Accessible at Cooper’s Hawks remain resident over most of the US, but some in the north of the range, including Canada, migrate south for the winter down as far as Mexico and Honduras. They have a larger head that projects well beyond the wings, unlike the Sharp-shinned Hawk.Ĭredit: Manuel Grosselet, XC619260. They can be hard to identify between them as they have the same blue-gray back and red-orange breast and also with dark bands on the tail. The Cooper’s Hawk looks very similar to the Sharp-shinned Hawk but is bigger at about the size of a crow. ![]() They are recorded in 3% of summer checklists and 4% of winter checklists submitted by bird watchers. They lay 2-3 whitish, brown-spotted eggs.Ĭooper’s Hawks are the second most frequently spotted hawks in Wisconsin. Nests are high in tall trees, cliff ledges, and sometimes on tall buildings or towers. Red-tailed Hawks remain resident in the US and Mexico, but those birds in Alaska, Canada, and the northern Great Plains fly south for winter. ![]() The high-pitched descending raspy-screech sound of the Red-tailed Hawk is often used in movies for all birds of prey. You can also see them perched on telephone poles. They are also the easiest to spot, often on long car journeys, as they circle slowly over open fields looking for prey such as small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Most Red-tailed Hawks are brown on the back and pale underneath. They are large, with broad, rounded wings. Their numbers increase from August to May, due to birds flying in from breeding grounds further north and increasing the population of resident birds.Īs their name suggests, Red-tailed Hawks have a distinctive short, wide red tail. Red-tailed Hawks are the most frequently spotted hawks in Wisconsin, and they appear in 9% of summer checklists and 13% of winter checklists submitted by bird watchers for the state. There are 10 species of Hawk in Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, Hawks that are more common in summer include the Broad-winged Hawks, and hawks that are more common in winter are the Red-tailed Hawks. Some of these birds migrate, and some remain all year, and this information is included for each species. This guide will help you identify the species of hawks in Wisconsin according to avibase and ordered by the number of sighting recorded on ebird. If you enjoy finding out about birds of prey in Wisconsin then you should check out all the eagles and vultures you can spot here. To find Hawks head to woodland for the smaller hawks such as the Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk or open grassland, marshes, or high ridges for the larger species. There are 8 species of hawks recognized on state checklists as regularly occurring in Wisconsin, and 2 additional species are considered rare or accidental. Hawks are birds of prey and hunt and eat birds and small mammals, snakes, and frogs. They can see ultraviolet light, which helps them hunt down their prey.
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