Red Tailed Hawks

Red Tailed Hawks prefer to nest in high altitudes, like high trees, clifftops, and telephone lines. They also love tall buildings! These are absolutely perfect for their nesting grounds, and besides, in the city where else would they nest?

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Red Tailed Hawks are medium sized hawk that spans in range from Alaska all the way down to Central America. Their versatility and quick adaption to their environment has lead to them becoming a very dominant species population-wise. You'll find them in the bleek deserts of California, the wet rainforests of Panama, or the deep, lush highly competitive areas of Alaska. They have an approximate 43-57 inch wingspan, weighing in at around 1.4-4.3 pounds on the average. Females are also slightly larger than males.

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Red Tailed Hawks have a light underbelly with brown spots or dark brown bands across the belly. The tail is red on the top, pink on the bottom. If you see a Red Tailed Hawk mid-air from below, you'll spot the characteristic "red tail," which is usually a pinky-red. It's very easy to spot. The head is darker, but still spotty. Younger Red Tails will have yellow irises which will darken over age, becoming completely red-brown in a few years.

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What do Red Tailed Hakws Eat?

These birds eat a variety of rodents, small mammals, songbirds, reptiles, and fish. It's not uncommon to even see them munching on a snake!

These birds rarely are anything but monogamous. They mate for life, or until the other mate dies. They'll stick together in the same nesting area for years, guarding it from other birds, then moving on when the time is right.

When nesting, they typically have a clutch of 1-5 eggs in the early weeks of April. While the female incubates for the most part, the male will be out hunting. After successful hatching, which should be a little over a month, the birds will fly within 10 weeks.

Photo right: Courtesy of Thomas Oneil Photos

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