Hawks are spectacular birds with a wide range of sizes, plumage and habitats. Are there hawks in Florida? In this post we investigate what sort of birds of prey in the Sunshine State.
The Sunshine State
Florida is an extraordinary state with over 1,300 miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Straits and Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Keys comprises of 1,700 islands, some of which are connected by a series of bridges. Moving north we have the spectacular Everglades, a haven for waterbirds as well as endangered mammals. Coastal plains complete the picture moving round into the Florida Panhandle. With a warm, subtropical climate and these environments, it is no wonder that Florida is a magnet for birds.
What is a hawk?
Hawks belong to the Accipitridae family along with kites, eagles and harriers. There are 2 classes of hawk, the first being the true hawks. These are the Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks. The second class are buteo hawks and these are really buzzards. However, the nomenclature of hawks is not really our concern today so we will look at all native birds named hawk in our investigation.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Identification and Size
This hawk has a relatively short tail and the top of the bird is a rich red hue. Pale underneath, the Red-tailed Hawk has some dark barring on the breast and wings with a rough red stripe across the top of the wing and head. The female is larger than the male.
- Male
- Length: 17.7-22.1 in (45-56 cm)
- Weight: 24.3-45.9 oz (690-1300 g)
- Wingspan: 44.9-52.4 in (114-133 cm)
- Female
- Length: 19.7-25.6 in (50-65 cm)
- Weight: 31.8-51.5 oz (900-1460 g)
- Wingspan: 44.9-52.4 in (114-133 cm)
Distribution
The Red-tailed Hawk is a widespread raptor across the whole of the U.S. It is very regularly seen across the state, all year round.
Diet
The Red-tailed Hawk is a raptor of open country and will be seen along roadsides and above pastures. Consequently it feeds on mammals underneath. These include rabbits and voles.
Interesting Fact
Red-tailed Hawks sometimes hunt as a pair. Four eyes on a tree or rabbit warren are more effective!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Identification and Size
This hawk varies in coloring but is generally a mix of rufous, orange and brown shades. It is identified by the red shoulder patches as seen in the photo on the right. The sexes are of similar sizes.
- Length: 16.9-24.0 in (43-61 cm)
- Weight: 17.1-27.3 oz (486-774 g)
- Wingspan: 37.0-43.7 in (94-111 cm)
Distribution
This hawk is a regular sight within Florida and can be spotted throughout the year often hunting in woods and forests.
Diet
The Red-shouldered Hawk perches and scans the area for prey. When it spots a small mammal, it will dive to catch it.
Interesting Fact
Although the Red-shouldered Hawk is migratory, it is present all year round in Florida because its wintering and breeding grounds are south and north respectively.
Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus)
Identification and Size
This is a compact hawk with a decidedly short tail. There is a dark and light morph with the dark morph population largely resident only in Florida. It is fully dark slate gray.
- Length: 15.3-17.3 in (39-44 cm)
- Weight: 13.6-16.9 oz (385-480 g)
- Wingspan: 32.7-40.5 in (83-103 cm)
Distribution
The Short-tailed Hawk, as you can see in the Range Map above, is only seen on the Florida Peninsula. The distribution chart below shows it is seen more in the winter months.
Diet
This raptor hunts for small birds and takes them in flight or by diving on to them.
Interesting Fact
There are only around 500 individual birds in the Florida population. To see them, join up to a special hawk watch program.
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Identification and Size
This is a smaller hawk and the first of the ‘true’ hawks’ on our list. It is an attractive mid gray on the back and a mix of orange and buff barring on the front.
- Male
- Length: 14.6-15.3 in (37-39 cm)
- Weight: 7.8-14.5 oz (220-410 g)
- Wingspan: 24.4-35.4 in (62-90 cm)
- Female
- Length: 16.5-17.7 in (42-45 cm)
- Weight: 11.6-24.0 oz (330-680 g)
- Wingspan: 29.5-35.4 in (75-90 cm)
Distribution
The Cooper’s Hawk is fairly common in Floridian woods as it hunts. It is resident and can be seen all year round.
Diet
The Cooper’s Hawk zooms around the forest hunting smaller birds.
Interesting Fact
This active and fairly vicious hawk captures its avian prey with its talons and will crush them to death before retiring to eat it.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
Identification and Size
The Sharp-shinned Hawk looks very similar to the Cooper’s Hawk but is considerably smaller. In fact, it is our smallest hawk in Florida.
- Length: 9.4-13.4 in (24-34 cm)
- Weight: 3.1-7.7 oz (87-218 g)
- Wingspan: 16.9-22.1 in (43-56 cm)
Distribution
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a regular but uncommon winter visitor to Florida.
Diet
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is another bird specialist, again hunting on the wing in forests, woods and gardens.
Interesting Fact
Although the Sharp-shinned Hawk is another attractive raptor, it is also quite vicious and has been known to stalk backyard bird feeders in search of its next meal.
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
Identification and Size
The Broad-winged Hawk is a squat looking bird in flight with a dark back and pale, barred front.
- Length: 13.4-17.3 in (34-44 cm)
- Weight: 9.3-19.8 oz (265-560 g)
- Wingspan: 31.9-39.4 in (81-100 cm)
Distribution
This hawk is an uncommon visitor to Florida coastlines. It is seen mainly in the spring and fall as it passes through on migration.
Diet
This is another aerial diving hawk but this one hunts for small mammals on the ground.
Interesting Fact
Broad-winged Hawks gather in large numbers during migrations. These big, swirling groups of birds are called kettles.
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
Identification and Size
The Swainson’s Hawk initially looks similar to others with a dark back and barred front but it has an unusual dark bib under its throat.
- Length: 17 – 22 inches
- Weight: 17.6 – 60 ounces
- Wingspan: 46 – 54 inches
Distribution
The Swainson’s Hawk is a rare visitor to Florida outside of the summer months.
Diet
The Swainson’s Hawk hunts small mammals by either perching or soaring and then diving on them.
Interesting Fact
Florida is out of the range of the Swainson’s Hawk. It is commonly found on the western part of the country and migrates as far south as Argentina.
Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus)
Identification and Size
The Zone-tailed Hawk is true to its name with distinctive barring on the tail. The overall plumage of this hawk is dark with paler barring under the wing.
- Length: 17.7-22.1 in (45-56 cm)
- Weight: 21.4-23.5 oz (607-667 g)
- Wingspan: 46.9-55.1 in (119-140 cm)
Distribution
There are only a couple of sightings reported to eBird of the Zone-tailed Hawk in Florida. Its range is western America, through Central and South America.
Diet
The Zone-tailed Hawk is another soaring and perching hunting, this time looking for small birds, mammals and lizards.
Interesting Fact
Sometimes the Zone-tailed Hawk pretends to be a Turkey Vulture, to which it resembles. This puts the prey at ease as they know the vulture is not a threat.
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
Identification and Size
The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest on our list and a very striking bird of prey. It has a dark and pale morph. The pale morph pictured above is rich brown on the back and very pale on the front.
- Length: 22.1-27.2 in (56-69 cm)
- Weight: 34.5-73.2 oz (977-2074 g)
- Wingspan: 52.4-55.9 in (133-142 cm)
Distribution
There are only a handful of sightings of the Ferruginous Hawk in Florida so safe to say it is a very rare visitor.
Diet
This larger raptor is another bird that soars, looking for prey underneath. It will take bigger mammals like prairie dogs.
Interesting Fact
The Ferruginous Hawk is one of only 2 hawks in the U.S. that has feathers all the way down its legs.
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
Identification and Size
This is an unusual and very striking bird of prey with dark blue gray plumage on the back and fine barring on the front. The large white eyebrow is also diagnostic.
- Length: 20.9-25.2 in (53-64 cm)
- Weight: 22.3-48.1 oz (631-1364 g)
- Wingspan: 40.5-46.1 in (103-117 cm)
Distribution
The Northern Goshawk is just that, a bird of the north. While it is common in northern parts of the U.S. and also Europe, it has only been reported several times as far south as Florida.
Diet
The last of our true hawks is, just like the others, an aerial diver that hunts smaller species of birds.
Interesting Fact
While the barring on the American species of the Northern Goshawk is fairly fine, it is almost all white on the Siberian sub-species while much darker on the European ones.
Conclusion
So, we have 10 species of hawk that have been seen in Florida. 4 of these species are very rare, which leaves 6 that are common to uncommon. That is a surprise as there are 20 species of hawk present in the United States. I guess the Sunshine State can’t have it all!
I hope you enjoyed reading about the hawks of Florida as much as I enjoyed researching them!
FAQ
The most common hawk and indeed raptor in Florida and across the United States is the Red-tailed Hawk.
Well, we know that there are hawks in Florida but there also falcons. The Peregrine Falcon, for instance, is a regular visitor to the state. American Kestrels can also be seen here and despite their name, they are also falcons.
There are also eagles in Florida. The Bald Eagle is a regularly reported species outside of summer. The Golden Eagle is a very rare visitor.
