For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Hi everyone! Our bird today is the broad-winged hawk. This hawk is a little larger than a crow and breeds across the eastern half of the U.S. and across Canada in nearly every province. Out in western Canada they breed quite far north but not so in eastern Canada. They prefer deciduous or mixed forests and usually close to some kind of clearing or near a lake or river. Mostly they eat small rodents such as mice, but will go after a wide range of prey including insects, chipmunks, squirrels and small birds. They generally nest about 10 to 30 feet off the ground and the nest can be up to 20 inches (50cm across). Most winter from southern Mexico to S. America. They have broad black and white bands on their tails and very broad wings, making them easy to identify while soaring. In fall migration they can fly in flocks, called kettles, of several thousand birds. They are usually our last hawk to arrive here in the north, normally late April to early May. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Β©2021 Steve McLeod.
This is unexpected quite interesting. Looking forward to learning about more birds!
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Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for joining us here at Steve’s Country!ππΊππ·
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Beautiful Hawk. We only have the Red Tails down here. It’s good to see others
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,,Fact, Laughing cures many diseases
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We have the red tails too, those with the broad wings are the two most common hawks here, and maybe the sharp shinned too.
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Lovely bird of prey ! Quite striking ! Sleep well ! βοΈπΊππ΄
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Thanks Sharon, have a nice day!ππΊππ·
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What a majestic bird!
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It really is, just don’t get too close to their nest, they are very protective!
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I bet!
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How I would like to see a kettle of those hawks. Nice post Steve.
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Yes, I would too, but the hawks migration routes are either too far west or east. Thanks Kevin!
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Very cool … we have the Red Tailed Hawk where I live β€οΈ
Their wingspans are so impressive!!
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How about that, we have the red-tailed hawk here too, it and the broad-winged are the two most common hawks we have. Thanks for reading Trisha!ππΊππ·
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