The state Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously voted at a meeting in August to change the hawk’s status from threatened to endangered, in an effort to stop the decline. Don't forget to look beyond the plumage to ID birds by their nest structure, habitats, plus sounds.Washington’s ferruginous hawk population is continuing to slip. Of course, you'll start your sightings with the red-tailed as it's common in the US. Even more interesting, you see the rare ferruginous hawk. Most of its hawks are year-round natives, which means you can go birding any time of the year. Watch this rare sighting of a Colorado red-tailed hawk:Ĭolorado has an impressive number of hawks for a long birding trip.

Yes, you can see the red-tailed hawk in this state throughout the year. Colorado has many birding locations with different species of hawks. The eight hawks to see are the red-tailed, Cooper's hawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, the ferruginous hawk, the rough-legged hawk, the northern harrier, the northern goshawk, plus Swainson's hawk. It uses sound to track prey like voles, rats, shrews, and songbirds, not forgetting rabbits.įYI: Have another round with this species and one more as they face-off in falcon vs hawk! Frequently Asked Questions What Hawks Can Be Seen In Colorado? Let's mention a thing or two about this hawk's diet. The male starts the building process, but it's the female that completes the project and does all the interior decor stuff like arranging the grass on the firm structure of willows and alders.

They build nests on the ground, in willows, reeds, or other dense vegetation. They live in wetlands and grasslands and breed in many places, including marshes and riverside woodlands. However, the best way to distinguish these Colorado hawks from others is by their owl-like faces. The females have a pale underbelly with brown streaks, while the males have a pale underbelly with a dark edge on the wings. This hawk has a white patch between the tail and its wing linings, plus a dark edge on its wings. You can spot this Colorado hawk in Jackson Lake State Park and Steamboat Lake State Park. At times, they eat insects, birds, and amphibians. From below, juveniles have either a light underbelly or a dark brown one.įerruginous hawks eat hares, rabbits, plus squirrels. On the other hand, from below, a dark morph adult hawk has a chestnut-colored belly, then everything else is white, from the bird's tail to the flight feathers and the wing linings. From above, an adult with a light morph has a chestnut-colored back that contrasts with a pale tail. Therefore, the one we've just described is an adult ferruginous hawk with a light morph.

To ID it, look for hawks with pointed wingtips, a large head, a white belly, and legs that curve into a V-shape under a white-colored tail.īut, remember, ferruginous hawks have either a light or dark morph. So, where can you spot them in Colorado? Everywhere! Yes, these birds are everywhere. The only way to ID them is if they have a distinct red tail.Ĭolorado has a year-round population of these raptors, and most of the states above it on the map have a breeding range only. However, if you're new to birding, it's not too late to mark this bird of prey off your list.Īdult red-tailed hawks have light and dark colored plumage, so the color of the upper or underparts alone is not enough for identification. You've probably come across a red-tailed hawk as it's one of the most common raptors in North America. If you look at their plumage only, you may not tell them apart as they both have a dark crown and a bluish-gray back. You see, this hawk is about 20 inches long, while sharp-shinned hawks don't grow longer than 15 inches.Īnother easy way to differentiate these bird-feeder-loving hawks is by learning Colorado hawk sounds because the sharp-shinned hawk makes a high-pitched sound. It has such excellent flight abilities that it'll swoop down on an unsuspecting blackbird or starling in your backyard.Ĭooper's hawk resembles a sharp-shinned hawk, though a few inches bigger.

Ferruginous hawk sounds