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Spotting hawks hovering overhead is an exciting experience for any bird watcher or nature enthusiast. With practice, you can learn to identify the different hawk species by observing key characteristics like shape, size, coloring, and flight patterns. This guide will walk you through the step-by-step process for spotting hovering hawks and identifying which species you’re seeing.
Gear You’ll Need
Identifying hovering birds takes sharp eyesight and often binoculars or a spotting scope. Here is some essential gear that makes hawk watching easier:
Binoculars
Having a good pair of binoculars with 8x or 10x magnification allows you to get better views of key details like beak shape, feet, wing shape, and tail bands. Look for binoculars that are fog and waterproof.
Spotting Scope
A spotting scope gives even closer views than binoculars on hovering birds high up. Choose a 20-60x zoom eyepiece for versatility. A sturdy tripod helps stabilize the shaking image.
Field Guides
Bring along hawk field guides that offer illustrations and key ID markers for your local species. Cross-reference what you see in the field to narrow down the species. Regional guides are best tailored to your area’s hawks.
Birding Apps
Birding apps like Merlin Bird ID or Audubon can help you ID unfamiliar hawks from photos. Having an app as a second opinion is useful for tricky sightings. Just make sure to carry some kind of battery pack to keep devices charged.
Where to Look for Hovering Hawks
Hawks hover by flapping their wings to stay suspended in one place while hunting for prey beneath them. Here are productive places to scan for possible hovering hawks:
Open Fields
Watch for hawks suspended over open meadows, marshes, or grasslands as they hunt for mice and voles. The Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk frequently hover in these habitats.
Woodland Edges
The borders between forests and open areas offer good hovering and perching hunting grounds for species like the Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk as they spy on birds and squirrels.
Over Waterways
Lakes, rivers, coastlines, and wetlands draw ample bird and rodent activity. Scan for Ospreys, Northern Harriers, and other raptors that hover and dive for fish and water prey.
Roadsides
Many birds of prey like to perch on power lines, poles, and fences bordering roads to scout for prey movement. Hovering may happen right over the road or in adjacent fields.
During Migration Seasons
Spring and fall migrations bring a greater diversity of hawk species to temporary stopover habitats ideal for hovering while the traveling raptors rest and feed.
What to Look for When Identifying Hawks
Accurately ID-ing a hawk takes observing several characteristics in combination, like shape, wing beats, tail features, etc. Key traits to analyze include:
Shape and Size
A hawk’s proportions compared to head size offers clues. Is it large like a Red-tailed Hawk or small like a Sharp-shinned? Taking notes on body and wingspan scale helps narrow options.
Coloring
Plumage patterns like a pale underside contrasting against dark wing feathers assist with hawk IDs. Details like reddish tails, white-spotted wings, or banding on the tail help pinpoint difficult species.
Beak and Head Shape
Noticeable features like a strongly hooked beak suggests a Northern Goshawk, while an osprey’s head is white with a dark eye stripe. Heads may appear small or large relative to a body shape.
Wing Beats and Structure
Long, broad wings with lazy flaps signal large buteos. Rapid beating of short, rounded wings indicate smaller accipiters. Check for distinct white crescents on the undersides of wings.
Tail Features
Fanned tails reveal width and colorful bands like the Red-tailed Hawk’s cinnamon-red marking. Sharp-shinned Hawks show a more square tail with white edging.
Step-By-Step Process for Identifying
Follow this sequence when you spot a suspicious hovering hawk to methodically rule out species:
Step 1: Note Location, Shape, and Size
First notice where it’s hovering – over a wetland or forest signals certain habitat preferences. Squint to gauge overall size and proportions compared to the head. This gives a rough idea of hawk family.
Step 2: Observe Coloring Patterns
Next shift to binoculars or spotting scope to analyze colors and markings. Distinctive traits like pale heads, dark wings, belly bands, tail markings and wing undersides help pinpoint groups.
Step 3: Assess Wings and Tail
A hawk’s wings and tail offer more clues to identity like wing shape (broad or rounded), wing beat style (flapping or gliding) and details on the tail like width, bands, and edge patterns.
Step 4: Consider Beak and Feet
Subtleties of beak shape, like strongly curved or small and hooked, give hints. Likewise talons facing forward or backward indicate different hunting styles.
Step 5: Check Field Guide Photos
Armed with your observed evidence, page through field guide images and accounts to cross-reference specifics. Guides organize species by family with identification pointers for each making comparisons faster.
Step 6: Gauge Relative Size
Still uncertain? Use landmarks like power poles or trees to gauge scale and size to determine if you’ve spotted a large buteo or smaller accipiter species based on proportions.
Pro Tips for Improving ID Skills
Sharpening your hawk identification abilities takes practice. Keep these expert tips in mind:
Learn Common Species First
Get familiar with widespread hawks you’re likely to see often before tackling rare or tricky species. Mastering common types like the Red-tailed Hawk or American Kestrel first builds key ID foundations.
Study Field Marks
Commit to memory key field marks like wing underside patterns, tail bands, streaking on breasts that distinguish types. Testing yourself on subtle differences between two similar species through flashcards, apps or photos improves speed and handling of challenging hawk groups.
Watch Flying Behavior
Unique flight mannerisms assist IDs too. Accipiters flap more, buteos glide. Falcons stoop and chase in pursuit of prey. Connecting actions to certain hawk families helps prepare you on fast sightings.
Read Body Language
Watch a hovering hawk’s head orientation for clues – are the eyes peering intently downward? See focused attention on something below? These hints help anticipate interesting hunting activity.
Fine Tune Your Optics
Using binoculars and spotting scopes takes skill too – practice tracking and staying with moving subjects. Adjust for shakes and drift. Optimizing optics handling means less missed hawk details and more accurate IDs.
Top North American Hawks Worth Knowing
Focus your identification efforts on these 10 common North American hawks to build confidence before advancing to more tricky species:
Red-Tailed Hawk
The classic soaring raptor of open country. Look for the namesake cinnamon-red tail of adults (juveniles lack this trait).
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
A small forest accipiter with a squared-off tail and orange barring on the underside. Often hovers while hunting smaller woodland birds.
Cooper’s Hawk
Larger and longer-tailed than the Sharp-shinned with gray caps and black beady eyes. Draws attention with loud calls.
Northern Goshawk
One of the fiercest woodland raptors. Adults have striking red eyes, juveniles have yellow. Flies with powerful, determined wing beats.
Bald Eagle
Our national symbol is unmistakable with white heads and tails on chocolate brown bodies in adults. Huge yellow beaks and talons.
Northern Harrier
Long-winged and owl-faced, it quarters low over grasslands. Look for white rump patches and owl-like facial disks. Male’s gray, females larger and brown.
American Kestrel
Petite, colorful falcon of open country. Hovering over perches gives great views of rusty backs and double black facial lines. Falcons have tapered wings and aerodynamic profiles.
Osprey
Large raptor specialized in fishing, often seen hovering over water before plunging feet-first. Look for crooked wrists, dark eye stripes, white heads and bellies.
Broad-Winged Hawk
A short, broad-winged buteo, it flies in large migrating kettles. Look for wide banding on all-dark undersides of wings with finger-like flight feathers spread at the wingtips.
Swainson’s Hawk
Lanky lighter hawk with pointed wings, often stays poised in air hunting. White throat contrasts a dark brown bib on pale bellies; shows dihedral in flight.
FAQ – Hovering Hawk Identification
What does it mean when a hawk hovers?
When a hawk hovers with its wings flapping to stay suspended in one place above the ground, it signals focused hunting behavior. The hawk is likely spotting potential prey animals scurrying through vegetation below and preparing to dive down to ambush them. Prolonged hovering shows they are determined to catch something in that location.
Why do hawks need to hover before striking?
Hovering serves several key purposes for hunting hawks. Flapping in place while peering at possible prey helps them evaluate movement to select their target. It also allows time to calculate the precise angle of attack. Hovering also narrows down distanceestimates just prior to speeding down feet-first for maximum impact.
How high do hawks hover above ground?
Most hawks hunt from just dozens of feet above the ground while hovering, though they may range anywhere between 10 to 100+ feet up depending on the pursuit. Larger buteos like the Red-tailed Hawk can successfully strike prey from higher elevations than smaller accipiters. Hover height depends on the species, habitat and how high fleeing prey tries to escape.
What wing features help hawks hover effectively?
Hawks that actively hover while hunting have adapted broad wings and long feathers specialized for producing maximum lift. Their lightweight, hollow bones also aid hovering agility before dropping into a stoop. In addition, flexible wrist joints allow the wingtips to bend and enable more elaborate in-flight maneuvers.
Why do some hawks like forest environments while others prefer open areas?
North American hawks occupy diverse habitat niches matching their particular hunting adaptations. For instance smaller accipiter hawks like Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks evolved for speed and agility capturing birds within dense, wooded environments. In contrast, soaring buteos like the Red-tailed Hawk use powerful talons and broad wingspansto hunt in open country where prey is more visible.
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