Birds of the Desert: Harris's Hawk

A very rare visitor to the skies of Oklahoma, the Harris's Hawk is a raptor of saguaro-mesquite, paloverde, organ pipe cactus, or mesquite woodlands.  They are normally in the extreme southwest part of the country as well as southern Texas.  They are social hawks with a cooperative effort in hunting and know the meaning of family as a unit.  A couple of them will flush their prey and the third will capture it.  It may lead to sibling rivalry, but it is a healthy way to do it.

Their body structure is somewhat confusing, running about midway between a buteo and an accipiter with short wings, long tail, lanky build, and rounded, broad wings.  Its  genus name certainly suggests these attributes, parabuteo.  The wings are all dark with rufous shoulders and white upper tail coverts and tail tip.  Audubon even named this bird after his friend and ornithological companion, Edward Harris.

                                                               Harris's Hawk
                                                           Eastland, TX 2018

The dusky hawk breeds in the southwest US through Mexico and Central America, south to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.  They will reside in semi-desert, sparse woodlands, mangrove swamps, and marshes with sparse trees in some of their assorted ranges.  They do not migrate and are resident birds in their own zones.  Even though their populations are declining, they have relocated to developed areas.



Harris's Hawk (background) with
   Peregrine Falcon (foreground)
Digital Art by Liana Winters Smith


Highly intelligent and easy to train, this is a popular falconry bird, which lends to the fact that it is seen in Europe and Asia.  Its size falls between a Red-tailed Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon with the female thirty percent larger than the male, which is a form of sexual dimorphism.

Their agility and hunting practices allow them to take rabbits, lizards and large insects. The bay- winged hawk will nest in shrubby growth, cacti, and small trees.  Young have been known to stay with their parents for up to three years, lending to cooperative breeding.   The female could breed up to three times each year.

The dusky hawk will often stand upon another if perching spots are lacking.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Red-shouldered Hawk

Kee-yah, kee-yah!

Often observed perching in trees at edges of clearings, the Red-shouldered Hawk is usually seen near water.  It is vocal with crescents shown across its outer primaries, which is used as one feature of identification.  Checked flight feathers are also another identifying characteristic.  It is not usually seen in the same habitat as the Red-tailed Hawk, yet there are exceptions to the rule.

The three subspecies are very distinctive, which includes the California, Florida, and Eastern.  The California has a solid orange breast, the Eastern has orange bars, and the Florida is much paler as adults.  The brown juvenile is streaked below and very similar to the Broad-winged Hawk.

                                                        Eastern Red-shouldered Hawk
                                                            Boomer Lake Park, 2016

The most distinctive signage is the red shoulder patch, or epaulet, and it is often the most common hawk in its habitat, where it hunts in swamps, coves, agricultural areas with plenty of trees, and riparian woodlands.  Sedentary like other buteos they soar while hunting or from a low perch where it will drop to capture its prey.

Mouse hawks consume a protein-rich diet of small mammals and birds, frogs, reptiles, snails, etc.

They are migratory in northern regions, and are on the breeding grounds by February or March.  They will head south in October or November, generally wintering in Mexico.

                                                         Eastern Red-shouldered Hawk
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2016

Nesting is done in tall trees, usually nearest the tree trunk, and they prefer hardwoods, though pines can suffice in a pinch.  They use platform nests with twigs, lined with lighter substrate and feathers.

A popular breeding bird of Oklahoma, the red-bellied hawk is usually up for photographic opportunities.  Also nicknamed winter hawk, hen hawk, red-shouldered buzzard, and a few others depending upon regional locales.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Swainson's Hawk

A lanky hawk of the west, desert, prairie, and farmland, the Swainson's Hawk is one of four buteos with four notched primaries (as opposed to five).  They are uncommon and hunt from the air, a perch (still-hunting) or even upon the ground, running after their quarry.  They generally feed on reptiles or small mammals in summer, then resort to grasshoppers, locusts, and other invertebrates for the remainder of the year.

Known as the locust or grasshopper hawk, this handsome bird was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist.  Swainson felt like many of us do when it comes to living things.  They were an inherent passion.

Suspected to have a migration range of 14,000 miles, this raptor is likely the longest traveler in the family of hawks.  Wintering in Argentina or Southern Brazil, immature Swainson's Hawks can see their way to southern Canada by late March and their migration can peak from mid-April forward.

Having diverse and somewhat unusual eating habits, this hawk will take Mallards, fledged Lark Buntings, incapacitated Sage Grouse, toads, salamanders, whip snakes, the American Kestrel, young Short-eared Owls, and several others.  They are also known for hunting upon freshly plowed fields for rodents, and are opportunistic feeders, as well.

These birds come in a light, intermediate and dark morph.  Oklahoma has the lowest percentage of dark morphs, while California has the highest.  They can behave similarly to the Northern Harrier by flying low to the ground at times.  Wingbeats are deep and loose, and they will soar with wings in a dihedral angle, or an angle between two intersecting planes.  They glide like an Osprey would.  These are all tell tale signs of how to spot the bird on a hawk watch.

Last year, while visiting the Oklahoma Panhandle, these were relatively common, perching on telephone poles and fence posts.  This photo came from that area, with the sun behind the bird.

                                                                Swainson's Hawk
                                                            Cimmaron County, OK

Another interesting point, also from last year, was during monarch migration.  A notation was made on a butterfly site to go outside and look up, which I did.  I saw no monarchs, but observed fifteen Swainson's Hawks heading southbound.  It was one of the most remarkable sights ever seen, especially with the way that the light struck the underwings and their breasts in late afternoon, as they simply glowed.

Swainson's will hybridize with Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, but it is questionable if Ferruginous Hawks are in the mix.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Red-tailed Hawk

Stocky with rounded wings and a short tail, this classic buteo gives the distinct impression that it is not wise to mess with the best.

There are several subspecies and morphs that funnel through Oklahoma when it is time for fall migration at the end of August through September.  They will all fan out via the Great Plains and then will head directly to their home bases, sometimes as late as December.  One can conceivably see Harlan's, Southwestern, Western, Krider's, and  Eastern Red-tailed Hawks perched upon trees or fenceposts to assist in keeping down the rodent population.

                                                     Juvenile Eastern Red-tailed Hawk


Usually uncommon, yet widespread, the Red-tailed Hawk is the bird of choice for many falconers, who must learn how to handle the bird properly, take it out for prey hunting, and get it through the winter.  Licensed to be responsible for the bird, an apprentice falconer must prove him or herself to be worthy to keep a raptor in his or her care.  Eighty to eighty-five percent of first year birds cannot survive their first winter, usually due to lack of food, so the falconer provides the opportunity for that bird to succeed.  When it gets through that winter, it can hopefully, be assured of a long and well-fed life, as well as passing on good genes to its sires.

                                                           
                                                Adult Fuertes x Eastern Red-tailed Hawk


These raptors prefer open habitat for hunting purposes, which is perfect for sighting prey, as well as thick groups of tall trees for nesting.  Nests are platform types from fifteen to seventy-five feet high in their tree of choice, frequently oaks and sycamores.    They are made of twigs, lined with green vegetation, bark strips, and sometimes soft feathers.  They usually breed from mid-March to mid-April and young are in the nest from early May to mid-June in Oklahoma.

The female, who is the larger of the pair, takes responsibility for brooding purposes, but both will incubate.  The male takes over feeding both the female and the young.  Young are hatched over several days.  By the time they are a month old, they are branching in the trees, and will fly around six weeks of age.  They will be independent of their parents in about a month.

                                                    Juvenile Eastern Red-tailed Hawk


Young give their respect and a wide berth to the Bald Eagle if it happens to be hunting in the same area.

The Southwestern or Fuertes Red-tail was given its name by the late George Miksch Sutton, a truly gifted ornithologist and artist of Oklahoma.  The subspecies was named in honor of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, an excellent wildlife artist.  This bird is very light and is differentiated by the breast streaking, and Sutton even indicated that the breeding bird in Oklahoma is the Fuertes.  However, there is much conjecture upon this and I have even had disagreements myself with ornithologists much more experienced than I am.

The Eastern Red-tail is non-migratory and varies much in physical attributes, and many would say that this is the hawk of Oklahoma.  Others have indicated that perhaps the Eastern has mixed with the Fuertes, or the Fuertes is not even here.

Western Red-tails are noticeably darker and were bred in the northwestern part of the country.

Harlan's Hawks look quite black, with a white streak upon the breast, yet their DNA is very close to the Eastern subspecies.  They seem to be quite suspicious of people and will go out of their way to get away from them.  John James Audubon named this subspecies after a medical doctor and friend, Richard Harlan.

The Krider's Hawk is white on both the head and the tail.  Eastern and Krider's also tend to breed together.

Red-tailed Hawks are some of the most difficult birds to actually identify, as well as the light, medium and dark morph tags.  As you learn more about the species and see the varieties in the field, it may only confuse you more.  However, you will observe noticeable behavioral differences as the years progress in your studies.  Keep at it, and get out in the winter, where you will a chance to actually observe all these subspecies in the Great Plains.