Hawks, sometimes confused with eagles, are among the soaring predators and fascinating birds to observe on earth. They’re known for their beauty and fantastic hunting abilities.
The hawks in North Carolina come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors, but the following are the ten most spectacular sights to see in all corners of the state.
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1. Peregrine Falcons
Peregrine Falcons are native to the Appalachian Mountains but have been spotted as far north as Quebec.
They live in various habitats, including urban areas, cliffs, and bridges. Peregrines have strong claws for climbing and hunting and sharp hooked beaks for tearing into their prey.
They’re known for their versatility, high trainability, and strong hunting ability. These hawks prey on other birds and small animals like squirrels, rabbits, and rodents.
Due to their decreasing population, Peregrine Falcons are protected under federal law and are stated as endangered species.
Fun Facts
- Peregrines are one of the fastest animals on earth and can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour when diving after prey.
- These predators can fly over water or open ground while performing a hunting dive called a stoop.
- Their feathers provide camouflage by matching colors with their surroundings, which helps them sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
- They have large and sharp eyes that allow them to spot prey at great distances.
2. Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed hawks are one of the most common types of hawks in North Carolina, and they’re easy to identify because of their dark red tails.
They eat a lot of small animals like mice, voles, chipmunks, and shrews. They’ll also eat birds and even bats!
Red-tailed hawks live in open areas with trees that offer roosting spots and prey. You can spot them soaring through the sky or watch them hunt for prey at ground level.
Fun Facts
- A good time to spot red-tailed hawks is during the breeding season, when they make high-pitched whistles and chatter loudly among themselves.
- Red-tailed hawks often mate for life, and both parents are responsible for raising their chicks.
- Chicks are hatched featherless and grow new feathers every month. By fall, they will have all their beautiful brown-speckled adult plumage!
3. Cooper’s Hawk
Sometimes compared to Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s hawks are one of the most common birds of prey, and they can be found all over North Carolina.
This hawk has a wide wingspan measuring up to 35 inches (3 feet), making them reasonably easy to spot even from a distance.
Cooper’s Hawks eat a wide variety of animals, such as squirrels, mice, chipmunks, rabbits, rats, and insects. They hunt by scanning for small animals on the ground.
When it comes to habitat, these large birds usually stick close to wooded areas where they can find plenty of small animals.
Fun Facts
- These hawks might seem dangerous when defending their nests or swoop down on unsuspecting people who get too close to their nests.
- Cooper’s hawks usually fly around rivers or streams, where their prey will come to drink, making it easier to catch food.
- They hunt by swooping down on prey before capturing it with their talons and either eating it on the spot or storing it for later use.
- The easiest way to identify these raptors is by their distinctive call, cak-cak-cak, which means they’re more likely nearby.
4. Red-Shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a common bird of prey you can find throughout North America. They’re well known for their red shoulders and dark brown plumage.
The beautiful raptor has a wingspan of about forty inches and can weigh up to three pounds.
These birds are carnivores and eat rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks, reptiles, amphibians, insects, other birds (including smaller hawks), and sometimes bluejays.
They typically live in woodlands and forests, nesting on the ground or low branches, but they may also nest on human structures such as bridges and buildings.
Fun Facts
- Their eyesight is eight times stronger than humans making them excellent hunters with a vision comparable to eagles.
- They hunt by perching on an elevated position and scanning the ground below them. If they see something worth capturing, they‘ll dive down with extended talons!
- Male hawks will use bait such as dead rodents to attract female hawks during the breeding season.
5. Northern Goshawk
The northern goshawk is one of the state’s largest Accipiter, and despite its name, it can be found throughout the eastern US and Canada.
This hawk is famous for its size and power, allowing it to carry giant prey. While it typically hunts small prey like squirrels and rabbits, it also eats larger animals like deer or raccoons.
You can find these raptors in forests, woodlands, wetlands, more suburban areas, and near lakes or rivers where they can easily find prey.
Fun Facts
- Goshawks are nocturnal birds, meaning they fly and hunt at night when other birds are asleep or roosting.
- These raptors rely on stealth to hunt their prey. They fly silently through the forest, looking for movement below before pouncing on their unsuspecting victims.
- Male goshawks are more prominent than females, with wingspans measuring 47 inches across, while females are only 40 inches wide.
- Males usually protect their nests while the female is incubating her eggs or feeding her chicks until they fledge.
6. Broad-Winged Hawk
Broad-winged hawk is one of the most common hawks discovered in North America. You can spot them in a flock known as “kettle” west of North Carolina.
You can primarily find them in woodlands, open areas, marshes, and sometimes near urban areas.
They live on a diet primarily consisting of small rodents but will also eat reptiles, amphibians, giant insects, and other birds.
Fun Facts
- They’re known to hunt cooperatively with other members of the same species.
- They fly at speeds up to 20-40 mph when hunting.
- They prefer tall trees as nesting sites to spot prey more quickly than on the ground.
- The brood size for this bird is 2 or 3 eggs which hatch after about thirty days. The young stay with their parents for about seven months before becoming independent.
7. Northern Harrier
The Northern Harrier is a slender, long-winged hawk breeding across North America. You can spot it throughout North Carolina around river valleys, open fields, and wetlands.
You can usually see them hunting over fields or marshes or soaring on stiff wings, occasionally hovering briefly before dropping down on prey it spots below.
They feed on rodents and small mammals such as voles, mice, shrews, squirrels, and other small birds.
Fun Facts
- The Northern Harrier relies heavily on its keen vision and perfect hearing to spot its prey from afar. Once spotted, it dives steeply downward to catch its victim.
- These hawks are classified as birds of prey but don’t typically kill their victims with their talons; instead, they stun them by hitting them on top of the head.
- Rather than soaring above the ground like many other raptors, it flies low to the ground, just over crops and grasses, searching for prey animals.
8. Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-Shinned Hawks are smaller than other hawk species but mighty hunters. They prefer open areas with plenty of trees for nesting and perching.
They often hunt during the day and sometimes around dusk, using their excellent vision to spot prey.
Their prey items include small songbirds, tree frogs, lizards, small snakes, mice, bats, and other invertebrates.
Fun Facts
- The Sharp-Shinned Hawk is so named because its feet have sharp talons that can kill its prey with a single blow.
- The female lays 3 to 5 eggs, which both parents help incubate for about 36 days. Both parents switch roles between feeding the chicks and sitting in the nest.
- These hawks mostly live alone or in pairs but sometimes form temporary huge flocks during migration.
9. Rough-legged Hawk
The Rough-Legged Hawk is a small but powerful bird of prey that hunts mostly by perching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The Rough-legged diet consists mainly of rabbits, squirrels, other small mammals, and sometimes insects like crickets and grasshoppers.
They live in woodlands, forests, mountains, open fields, and even in urban areas such as parks.
Fun Facts
- Hawk has an incredible ability to maneuver swiftly through trees, shrubs, and vines, searching for food.
- When hunting, these hawks sit perched on high branches waiting for their prey to come close enough to capture them.
- They have excellent hearing, sharp eyesight, and fantastic balance skills, making them successful hunters.
- This raptor can attack small dogs and pick them up when hunting across the neighborhood.
10. Swainson’s Hawk
The Swainson’s Hawk, also known as Grasshopper Hawk, is a medium-sized hawk commonly found in the northern and southern United States.
They typically inhabit open fields and feed on insects such as grasshoppers as their primary food source. They also eat small reptiles, amphibians, and songbirds.
They’re small but powerful raptors with 40 to 57 inches wingspan. You can often see them perched on power lines or telephone poles, scanning for mice and other small prey.
Fun Facts
- Swainson’s hawks are named after William Swainson, a British naturalist who discovered this species in 1827.
- Swainsons are migratory birds that will travel to warmer climates during the winter.
- One of their attractive traits is that they’ll drop out of their flight and parachute at high speeds to break up their prey before landing on it.