New Jersey is home to a diverse array of hawks, each with its own unique characteristics and behaviors. From the migratory Broad-winged Hawk to the year-round residents like the Red-tailed Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk, the state offers ample opportunities for bird enthusiasts to witness these awe-inspiring birds of prey.
In this article, we will describe the eight types of hawks found in New Jersey and tell you where to find them. Whether you’re a resident of the state or just visiting, spotting a hawk in the wild is always a thrilling experience. So, read on to learn more about these fascinating birds!
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8 Types Of Hawks In New Jersey
Northern Goshawk
The Northern Goshawk is a large and powerful bird of prey that belongs to the family of eagles. It is one of the eight types of hawks found in New Jersey. The Northern Goshawk is a wilder, fiercer, and bigger bird of prey compared to other hawks found in New Jersey. It has a wingspan of about 40-46 inches and weighs between 1.4-4.8 lbs (635-2177 g).
These birds have a brown, grey, red, black, and white coloration, with a heavily barred chest and underparts. A distinctive feature of the Northern Goshawk is the thick white stripe that extends over each eye, giving them an intense and piercing gaze.
Northern Goshawks are often spotted during winter in New Jersey, as they migrate to the state in search of suitable nesting sites. They live in the deepest parts of the forests, where they cannot be traced, and are very secretive birds that can also be aggressive when confronted.
The Northern Goshawk prefers to watch for prey from some of the tallest perches in coniferous or mixed forests. These birds have a diet consisting mainly of rabbits, doves, crows, squirrels, wood pigeons, and other birds.
Northern Goshawks are very territorial birds who like guarding or defending areas they consider to belong to them. Females lay between two and five eggs per season, and they are in charge of incubation.
If you’re interested in spotting Northern Goshawks in New Jersey, the best places to see them are at the northwest Jersey Hawkwatch and at New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Point Hawkwatch in late winter.
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk is a medium-sized hawk that belongs to the Accipiter genus and is native to North America, including New Jersey. These hawks are known for their agility and are commonly found in wooded habitats.
Cooper’s Hawks are ambush predators that move cautiously from perch to perch until prey is in a suitable position. During the breeding season, Cooper’s Hawks inhabit deciduous, coniferous, and mixed riparian or wetland forests.
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In southern New Jersey, breeding habitats include large, remote red maple or black gum swamps and, on occasion, Atlantic white cedar swamps. These hawks prefer mature forests, open woodlands, wood edges, and river groves, and they nest in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed woods, typically those with tall trees and with openings or edge habitat nearby.
Cooper’s Hawks have a bulky structure of sticks as their nest, lined with softer material such as strips of bark. The diet of Cooper’s Hawks consists mainly of birds and small mammals, and they are known to prey on pigeons, doves, and invasive species of birds in urban areas.
Due to the reduction in the state’s breeding population and the loss of habitat, the Cooper’s Hawk was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey in 1974. However, recent surveys have shown a substantial increase in the breeding population of Cooper’s Hawks in New Jersey.
Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) is a medium-sized hawk that belongs to the Buteo genus and is native to North America, including New Jersey.
During the summer, some subspecies of the Broad-winged Hawk are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the Neotropics from Mexico south to southern Brazil.
Other subspecies are all-year residents on Caribbean islands. The Broad-winged Hawk is a small, compact raptor with chunky bodies and large heads. They have relatively short and broad wings, pointed at the end, which have a tapered appearance unique to the species.
The wingspan of the Broad-winged Hawk ranges from 31.9-39.4 inches (81-100 cm), and they weigh between 9.3-19.8 oz (265-560 g). The tail is relatively short, measuring 14.5–19.0 cm (5.7–7.5 in) in length.
Broad-winged Hawks have two types of coloration: a dark morph with fewer white areas and a light morph that is more pale overall. The Broad-winged Hawk is a bird of the forest interior and can be hard to see during the nesting season. They are most easily seen during migration at hawkwatches such as Hawk Ridge, Minnesota, and Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania.
Broad-winged Hawks are most commonly found in eastern woodlands in summer, staying around the edges of the forest. They hunt by watching for prey from a perch, usually located along the edge of woods or near water. The diet of Broad-winged Hawks consists mainly of small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
Red-shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized buteo that is native to eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. Here are some interesting facts about the Red-shouldered Hawk:
Appearance:
– Red-shouldered Hawks are medium-sized hawks with broad, rounded wings and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring.
– They have a wingspan of 37.0-43.7 inches (94-111 cm) and weigh between 17.1-27.3 oz (486-774 g).
– They have barred reddish-peachy underparts and a strongly banded tail, with translucent crescents near the wingtips that help to identify the species at a distance.
Habitat and Behavior:
– Red-shouldered Hawks are forest raptors that live in bottomland hardwood stands, flooded deciduous swamps, and upland mixed deciduous-conifer forests.
– They tend to live in stands with an open subcanopy, which makes hunting easier.
– Red-shouldered Hawks search for prey while perched on a treetop or soaring over woodlands.
– They kill prey by dropping directly onto it from the air and may cache food near their nest for later consumption.
– Red-shouldered Hawks are not exclusively birds of deep forest and can be found in some suburban areas where houses or other buildings are mixed into woodlands.
Conservation:
– The Red-shouldered Hawk is a species of least concern, with a stable population trend.
– However, habitat loss and degradation are still threats to the species.
If you’re interested in spotting Red-shouldered Hawks in New Jersey, you can listen for their distinctive whistle in and around wet forests, where you may find them hunting from a perch along a stream or pond.
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. Here are some interesting facts about the Red-tailed Hawk:
Appearance:
– Red-tailed Hawks are one of the largest members of the genus Buteo, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600 g (1.5 to 3.5 lb) and measuring 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110–141 cm (3 ft 7 in – 4 ft 8 in).
– They have a bulky and broad-winged body designed for effortless soaring.
– The plumage of Red-tailed Hawks varies depending on the subspecies, but they are generally brown above and pale below, with a characteristic brick-red tail.
Habitat and Behavior:
– Red-tailed Hawks occupy a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas.
– They are often seen perched on telephone poles, fence posts, and other high vantage points, watching for prey.
– Red-tailed Hawks are carnivorous and primarily eat small mammals such as rodents, rabbits, and squirrels, but they will also eat birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
– They are monogamous and mate for life, building stick nests in trees that they use year after year.
– The female lays one to five eggs, which are incubated by both parents for about a month.
– Red-tailed Hawks are known for their distinctive, high-pitched scream, which is often used in movies and TV shows to represent the sound of a raptor.
Conservation:
– Red-tailed Hawks are widespread and common, with a stable or increasing population trend in many areas.
– They are adaptable birds that can live in a variety of habitats, including urban areas.
– However, habitat loss and degradation are still threats to the species.
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If you’re interested in spotting Red-tailed Hawks in New Jersey, you can go for a drive and keep your eyes peeled along fence posts and in the sky, as they are often seen perched on high vantage points.
Rough-legged Hawk
The Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) is a medium-large bird of prey that is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. Here are some interesting facts about the Rough-legged Hawk:
Appearance:
– Rough-legged Hawks are fairly large hawks with broad wings that are fairly long and narrow compared to other Buteo hawks.
– The tail is also longer than in many other buteos, and the wingtips are broad and often swept back slightly from the wrist, giving a hint of an M shape to the wing.
– The bill is fairly small, and the legs are feathered all the way to the toes, giving the bird a shaggy appearance.
– Rough-legged Hawks have a variable plumage, with light morphs generally pale with a dark belly and dark patches on the “wrists,” while dark morphs have a brown or blackish body with a finely banded tail and striking white flight feathers.
Habitat and Behavior:
– Rough-legged Hawks breed in far northern tundra and move south irregularly to winter in open fields and grasslands.
– They are long-winged, northern raptors found in open areas like fields and marshes, and they often hover, kestrel-like, flapping their wings while looking down.
– Rough-legged Hawks are usually solitary birds, but they occasionally migrate in small groups.
– They use wing-flapping to reach a preferred altitude, but then usually glide until a perch or a source of food is spotted.
– Rough-legged Hawks are not known to walk at all, but they have been spotted scooting down a perch to move closer to a mate or towards food.
– The diet of Rough-legged Hawks consists mainly of small mammals such as lemmings, voles, and ground squirrels, but they will also eat birds, frogs, insects, and carrion.
Conservation:
– Rough-legged Hawks are not considered threatened or endangered, with a stable population trend.
If you’re interested in spotting Rough-legged Hawks in New Jersey, you can look for them in open fields and grasslands during the winter months.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) is a small hawk that belongs to the Accipiter genus and is native to North America, including New Jersey. Here are some interesting facts about the Sharp-shinned Hawk:
Appearance:
– Sharp-shinned Hawks are the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, with males being the smallest hawks overall.
– They have small heads, short, rounded wings, and a long tail that is squared-off at the tip.
– The plumage of Sharp-shinned Hawks is gray above with pale orange barring below in adults, while immatures are browner and streaky.
– They are very similar in appearance to Cooper’s Hawks, but smaller overall with a smaller head, more squared-off tail, and more petite feet.
Habitat and Behavior:
– Sharp-shinned Hawks are agile fliers that speed through dense woods to surprise their prey, typically songbirds.
– They hunt by perching inside foliage and waiting for small birds to approach, or by approaching stealthily through dense cover, then bursting forth with incredibly swift flight to capture prey in their talons.
– Sharp-shinned Hawks are usually solitary birds, but they occasionally migrate in small groups.
– They are migratory birds that breed in extensive forests and move south for the winter.
– Sharp-shinned Hawks are often seen stalking bird feeders in search of prey.
Conservation:
– Sharp-shinned Hawks are not considered threatened or endangered, with a stable population trend.
If you’re interested in spotting Sharp-shinned Hawks in New Jersey, you can look for them in dense woods during the breeding season and around bird feeders during the winter months.
Northern Harrier
The Northern Harrier, also known as the Marsh Hawk or Ring-tailed Hawk, is a bird of prey that belongs to the Accipitridae family and the Circus genus. Here are some interesting facts about the Northern Harrier:
Appearance:
– Northern Harriers are slim-bodied, long-legged, and long-tailed hawks.
– They have a wingspan of 38-48 inches (97-122 cm) and weigh between 10.6-26.5 oz (300-750 g).
– Northern Harriers are distinctive from a long distance away, with a slim, long-tailed hawk gliding low over a marsh or grassland, holding its wings in a V-shape.
– They have a disk-shaped face that looks and functions much like an owl’s, with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears.
Habitat and Behavior:
– Northern Harriers breed throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
– They are migratory birds that move south for the winter.
– Northern Harriers are often seen flying low over fields and marshes, scanning the ground for prey.
– They hunt mostly small mammals and small birds, but they are capable of taking bigger prey like rabbits and ducks.
– Northern Harriers are the most owl-like of hawks and rely on hearing as well as vision to capture prey.
– During the breeding season, males can have as many as five mates at once, while females incubate the eggs and brood the chicks.
Conservation:
– Northern Harriers are not considered threatened or endangered, with a stable population trend.
If you’re interested in spotting Northern Harriers in New Jersey, you can look for them in wide-open grasslands, marshes, or fields during the fall through spring.
FAQS
1. What are the 8 types of hawks found in New Jersey?
The 8 types of hawks found in New Jersey are the Northern Goshawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Northern Harrier.
2. Where can I find hawks in New Jersey?
Hawks can be found in a variety of habitats in New Jersey, including coastal regions, mountains, grasslands, savannas, forests, prairies, and marshes. The best places to look for hawks depend on the species, but generally, you can find them in woodland areas for the smaller hawks like the Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk, or open grasslands, marshes, or high ridges for the larger species.
3. What do hawks eat?
Hawks are carnivorous and primarily eat small mammals such as rodents, rabbits, and squirrels, but they will also eat birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
4. Are hawks endangered in New Jersey?
Most hawks are not considered threatened or endangered in New Jersey, with a stable population trend. However, habitat loss and degradation are still threats to some species.
5. When is the best time to see hawks in New Jersey?
The best time to see hawks in New Jersey depends on the species. Some hawks are year-round residents, while others migrate through the state during certain seasons. Fall is generally a good time to see many species of hawks as they migrate south for the winter.
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Category: Birds
