Rex Trulove
I feel fortunate and awed, having just seen a broad-winged hawk less than a half-block from my home a few minutes ago. These are really beautiful birds, but they aren’t common right in town.
Broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus) are small hawks, usually less than a foot and a half in length. The one that I saw was probably around 12 inches long. They are dark brown on the back and lighter on the belly, with dark barring. The tail is also barred.
This hawk has a big range, from Canada to southern Brazil, and they don’t migrate. This means that they are a year-round nesting bird in Montana and they favor forests. They typically eat large insects, frogs, snakes, lizards, and small rodents such as mice. They also sometimes take small birds.
Broad-winged hawks usually rear 1-4 young, breeding from April to August and they reach maturity at 2 years.
This is easily one of my favorites of the small hawks. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one up in the mountains, but I feel positively thrilled to have seen one so close to home. Wouldn’t you feel the same way?
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Question of
Have you ever seen a hawk like this?
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Yes
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No
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Possibly
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Question of
How would you feel if you saw one near your home?
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Thrilled
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Thankful
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I don’t care
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Astonished
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We have lots of Hawks here, I know just about were some of those sit on the wires.
These don’t often sit on wires, but they will sit on posts or tree branches, ready to swoop down on prey.
I have seen one of this bird.
These are fairly common birds, but only in the Americas.
Beautiful bird , thanks for sharing
I felt very honored to be able to see it so close to home.
Looks like a very majestic bird, I would love to see one, So far I have seen only small birds here but one day looking out my window I did see a large bird with wings spread gliding in the sky but I could not tell what it was,
I often see birds of prey, but seeing one in town was a treat. This kind of hawk is only about the size of a crow.
I know I have seen red-tailed hawks, maybe one of these as well. Amazing birds to watch.
Yes, they are. They aren’t rare, but this is the first one I’ve seen right in town.