How to identify it:  Large hawk with dark shoulder area, dark wingtips and broad red tail.  Distinctive brown band across belly.  Juvenile birds lack the red tail.

If you see a large soaring hawk, if you call it a red-tail you will be right most of the time as they are the most common soaring hawk-like bird in our area.  Redtails commonly perch along edges of fields and highways and patiently wait for a rodent to make a mistake, then they swoop down, talons out and with pinpoint accuracy land on  their prey.  Most of their diet is small rodents and animals such as rabbits but they also take snakes and even frogs.  They use their broad wings to catch updrafts and often you can watch one as it slowly circles gaining elevation with each turn.  Courtship begins in March with the males circling above the females dragging his legs underneath him and often calling.  He will make steep dives starting way above the female, then soar up underneath often accompanied by his calls.  If the female is receptive as the male soars directly above she will flip over and grasp his talons, and sometimes both hawks will tumble several feet.  Nests are large and bulky often in a cottonwood, maple or other deciduous tree.  Nests are used over and over but may be taken over by Great horned owls who nest earlier in the year.  Eggs are laid in April and young hawks are out and about in the world by the end of June.  Crows and blackbirds can often be seen diving on redtail hawks although this hawk rarely eats other birds.

How to Identify it: Hawks with long, narrow tails with alternating bands of light and dark. Juvenile birds with streaked breasts.

These two hawks are very similar and even expert bird watchers can be confounded trying to separate them. Both hawks hunt birds, often perching in a prominent place then launching a chase after potential prey, twisting and winding through branches and shrubs.  If the hunt is successful they kill their prey by squeezing it with their talons and then will carry the prey to a concealed branch and pluck it, often creating small piles of feathers below. 

Nests are bulky, made of sticks and often reused year after year, often in the crotch of a maple, cottonwood or Douglas fir tree.  Courtship may start in April and last for a month with the male bird calling and bringing the female food.  Eggs are laid in May and the young fledgling birds are seen starting in early to mid July, and their begging call is easily heard for several weeks after the birds leave the nest.  Adult birds may drop prey while flying above the juvenile birds as a way of teaching them hunting skills.

For information about how to tell the two hawks apart click here.

How to Identify it:  Hawk found near water with white underside and black line through eye.

This is the fishing hawk and it is found along rivers, lakes and the nearshore marine habits. It arrives in April and takes up station near a water source with fish.  It often hovers in the air above water then dives to snatch up a fish.  This hawk has specialized toe pads which help hold their slippery prey.   Ospreys built large bulky nests on utility poles, in trees, and on piers, readily using man made structures.  When courting the pair will chase each other, often low and close to the water with many twists and turns and the female is entirely fed by the male through the whole nesting season, which ensures mate fidelity.

How to Identify it:  Females and juveniles are brown hawks with a distinctive white patch at the base of the tail. Male hawks are gray, with black wingtips and tail tip with the same white patch at the tail base.

Harriers are low flying hawks, typically found over fields, grassy areas, and grassy marshlands.  They have a scooped facial profile, somewhat like an owl, which may help them in hunting. They hunt small rodents and birds by flying low and fast, then diving into the grass talons first to surprise their prey.  They build nests on the ground, often on a small hummock with good cover around it.  Eggs are laid in April, young are fledged in June, once the eggs are laid the female drives the male away from the nest and takes care of all the parental chores.

How to Identify it:  Small hawk, brightly colored, the back is reddish, the wings are gray with spots,  black marking on the face.

The kestrel is a bird of open fields and can often be seen perched near a field or on a wire overlooking an  open space.  They are locally known as the grasshopper hawk as it feeds on large insects but it also takes small mammals and birds and also lizards.  This is the smallest of the falcons, and it soars and dives with good speed, sometimes hovering then diving on prey.  It nests in hollows in trees often taking over burrows of woodpeckers.  The nest becomes a rather rank place after awhile as the young lift their tails and squirt their feces onto the walls of the nest.  Kestrels arrive in our area in Late April and by the end of October most have moved south.

How to Identify it:  Large black bird with wide wingspan, distinct finger-like feathers at the ends of the wings, reddish head.

This bird is often mistaken for an eagle, but in flight it often holds its wings in an upward V shape and has very noticeable feather separation on the wingtips.  It migrates in groups in April and again in late August and September, and several may share an evening roost.  They are the only bird in our area with a sense of smell, and they use this finely tuned sense to find the dead animals upon which they feed. They also keep a close eye on other vultures soaring,  and several may converge upon a large carcass such as a road killed deer or a dead cow.   They typically soar high overhead, searching for whiffs of  Methyle mercaptain gas which is given off by decaying flesh. They can be found along Salmon streams feasting on dead fish.  Turkey vultures do not build a nest, but lay eggs in a protected tree hollow, or dense vegetation or cliff.  The eggs are laid in June and fledglings appear by late August.  They are usually gone from our area by early October.

How to Identify it: Large Bird with wide wingspan, adults with distinctive white head and tail, juvenile birds often brownish with mottled spots under wings.

it is now hard to imagine that this common and abundant bird was once rare and facing serious declines.  They are the largest of the raptors common in our area and often perch in Cottonwoods along rivers during salmon runs.  During the rest of the year they feed on ducks, diving on them repeatedly to tire them out before plucking them out of the water. They also occasionally will feed on carrion, road kill and occasionally will take small mammals up to the size of house cats.  They will also  attack nesting colonies of sea birds and herons and cause considerable local decline in those species.    Eagles build large bulky nests which they use year after year.  Eggs are laid as early as February and young fledgling birds showing up in June.   The young are a mottled brown in color and they do not get the full white head and tail until they are 5years old.