It’s that time of year! We’ve reached the season where you can’t just assume that the bulky buteo flying above you is gonna be a red-tailed hawk. Rough-legged hawks are beginning to arrive, giving us birders a good reminder to bird every bird. I know I wouldn’t want to overlook a sighting of one of these arctic visitors!
You can find most of our raptors here year-round (rough-legged hawk aside), so perhaps the “winter” in the title here is a little misleading. But winter is a great time to turn your attention to raptors and even plan your birding outings around them. Songbird activity certainly slows down this time of year when many species migrate south, meaning you’re likely seeing fewer species if you’re out on a bird walk at a local conservation park or natural area. This gives you a good excuse to mix it up a bit, especially on those colder days—make some cocoa, hop in the car, and head to the countryside!
A rough-legged hawk flies overhead, looking down at the camera. That icy cool plumage just screams “arctic,” doesn’t it? This is a bird at home in the coldest of regions—in part thanks to its feathers that go all the way down to its toes. They’re not called rough-legged for nothing! Photo by USFWS-Mountain Prairie
Raptor Round-Up
There are several species of raptors you can in our region of south-central Wisconsin all winter long. Included in this “raptor” category are owls, which we talked about last week. Check out last week’s winter guide to owls to learn about what owl species you may find this winter. This week’s blog will skip owls and focus on falcons, hawks, eagles, and a special, tiny “honorary raptor.”
Let’s see who you might find this winter!
American kestrel
Master of the powerlines, this colorful falcon is tiny and fierce. Look for American kestrels perched on wires along country roads as they search for prey. Photo by Dominic Sherony CC BY-SA
Our smallest falcon, the American kestrel can be easy to drive right by. You might find yourself assuming that the perched bird on the telephone wire along the highway was a mourning dove—a bird that isn’t all that smaller than the American kestrel.
Kestrels are very skilled at hunting from perches. They’ll perch, usually on a wire, surveying the area below them but be able to drop to the ground to snatch a mouse or vole in an instant. Their talents don’t end there; they’re just as adept at hunting in the air. Kestrels are skilled at “kiting” or hovering mid-air as they hunt for prey over a field. If you see a small bird—the size of a blue jay—hanging motionless in the sky as if frozen in place, you’re liking seeing an American kestrel at work.
Where to find them: Out along country roads or highways, perched on telephone wires or barbed wire near grasslands or agricultural fields
Northern harrier
With long wings and a long tail, northern harriers fly effortlessly over fields, swooping and turning low to the ground as they search for prey. Watch for a flash of white on their rump as they fly—one of their classic field marks. Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren CC BY
While a red-tailed or rough-legged hawk might be soaring above, a northern harrier is likely to be swooping low, cruising above farm fields, grasslands, or marshes as they listen for prey below. The facial disc of feathers that circles their head—giving them an owl-like appearance—is designed to improve their hearing and help them detect critters like moles, mices, voles, or even small birds that may be among the brush below.
If you spot what you think may be a northern harrier in flight, look for a white rump—a patch of white feathers low on its back, at the base of the tail. This white rump is very visible in flight, even lower light conditions, and it’s a good field mark to be aware of. Male, female, and juvenile harriers will all sport this white patch, even though their plumage coloration may otherwise differ. Males will be gray, while female and juvenile harriers will be brown.
Where to find them: Swooping low (rarely soaring high) over grasslands, farm fields, or marshes. If you’re really lucky, you might see one feeding on the ground after it has caught some prey. (I got to witness that last winter, when a harrier landed in a farm field near where I had pulled over to watch some horned larks. In typical bird fashion, they do cool things like this when you least expect it and don’t have a camera on you.)
Red-tailed hawk
You can’t see the “red” on the tail of this red-tailed hawk, but you can see the characteristic belly band. The upper chest of this bird, just below the head, is pale, then there’s a smattering of tear-drop streaks across the center of the belly, and then pale again below—this is the “belly band” you’ll hear people refer to. It’s a field mark you can see on perched and flying red-tailed hawks, but keep in mind they aren’t the only raptor with a belly band, just one of the more common ones. Photo by Mick Thompson CC BY
You’ve likely seen this species many a time! Red-tailed hawks are very common and can be found in our region year-round, but don’t let their status as a “regular” let your excitement about them wane. Red-tailed hawks are always fun to see, especially since there can be so much variation in their plumage—each bird looks unique!
Look at the leading edge of the wing, just to the side of the bird’s head—those two dark strips are a field mark you can count on. Photo by Don Owens
There are several field marks that will set a red-tailed hawk apart, but there’s also a lot that varies bird by bird. Sometimes they have a strong “belly band” (or a smattering of dark streaks that runs across a white, cream colored belly) and other times their belly band is so faint you can barely see it. Sometimes you’ll see an adult in flight, the sun lighting up their fanned red tail, and other times you’ll have a juvenile bird with no red-tail at all.
My favorite field mark for this species isn’t the red tail or belly band, but rather a mark that doesn’t vary much from bird to bird—their dark “patagials,” or the leading edge of the wing. This is only visible on a bird in flight, though, when you can see the dark strip that runs across the front of each spread wing.
Where to find them: All over! You can spot red-tailed hawks soaring in town, perched on poles along the highway, perched in a tree at a nearby conservation park, or soaring in the countryside.
Rough-legged hawk
When perched, you may not be able to see the dark wrist patches that make this bird stand out in flight, but you can see the “delicate” facial features—like that tiny bill!—that give this bird its unique look. The light morph rough-legged hawks, like the one pictured here, will often have a light-colored head like this, over a dark belly. And don’t forget to check out those feathered legs, that cover them all the way down to their talons! Photo by Jeff Bryant CC BY-NC
Winter is the only time to find this hawk, which migrates south from the Arctic tundra. When you see one of these large, bulky buteos perched, you might initially think you’re looking at a red-tailed hawk—the closest hawk you’ll see in size. But despite its bulky body, rough-legged hawks will have a very “delicate” appearance thanks to their tiny bills and small feet. Everything about their body is designed for them to live in the coldest areas of the world, and having these small, delicate features means they have less of their “extremities” exposed to the cold. Oh, and what’s above those tiny feet? Pants! Yep, they’ve got feathers all the way to their toes to help them stay warm, hence their “rough-legged” name.
Look at this distant shot of a rough-legged hawk. Even from this distance, that dark patch at the wrist of the wing is visible. On a dark morph, whose head, chest, belly, and leading wings will be dark brown, these patches will appear “extra dark.” If you’re waffling between red-tailed and rough-legged, look for those wrist patches. Photo by Ryan Mandelbaum CC BY
Like red-tailed hawks, there’s a lot of individual plumage variation among rough-leggeds. In fact, they even come in two color morphs—a light morph and a dark morph. You may see either visit our area, but in my experience last winter, the light morph was more common. When this bird is soaring above you, you may see a dark band across the belly (which might remind you of a red-tailed hawk), but also look for dark “wrist patches” on their wings, at the midpoint where the wings bend. They won’t have the strong, dark patagials that a red-tailed would, but those blocky wrist patches will stand out!
Another characteristic feature to look for is their hunting style, which in some ways is not unlike the American kestrels. Rough-legged hawks will also practice kiting, hovering over fields as they search for prey. But unlike those tiny kestrels, rough-leggeds are big and bulky. If you spot that behavior, you can use size to narrow your ID.
Where to find them: They’ll favor wide open, country landscapes that remind them of the arctic tundra. You’re not likely to see one soaring in town, but you’ll have better luck looking for them as you drive country roads. They are prone to perching in trees, but oddly enough, they will perch on the thinnest, skinniest branches near the top of a tree—branches that you might suspect wouldn’t even support their weight. It can look odd to spot such a bulky bird on a tiny, thin branch—it should be an immediate clue to take a better look!
Bald eagle
Do you ever feel lucky to spot just a single bald eagle? Well, winter’s your season. Bald eagles will gather in communal roosts near open waterways, like the Wisconsin River, after the lakes freeze over. Photo by Jerry McFarland CC BY-NC
Here’s another year-round resident that you’ll definitely recognize! Bald eagles are probably one of our most iconic raptors and winter is a surprisingly great time to watch them. Because bald eagles enjoy eating fish, you’ll often find them near water. When things get cold and water starts to ice over, bald eagles will begin congregating at places where the water doesn’t freeze. Winter is the only season where you can find bald eagles roosting communally near these open water sources—they aren’t prone to gathering in groups in any other season!
In our area, one of the best places to see bald eagles gather is along the Lower Wisconsin River, particularly near Sauk Prairie. Eagles will roost communally in trees along the river overnight, then come to hunt fish in the open water each morning. Wait for the lakes in our area to freeze over, then take a short road trip up to Sauk Prairie to watch eagles along the river. Only after other water sources have frozen over will the eagles begin to congregate, though, so in the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for them if you’re anywhere near water.
Oh, and don’t be fooled by those tricky juveniles. Bald eagles take four years to reach their full adult plumage, so you might see some fully brown birds, like those three in the picture above, without the classic white head. Look instead at the shape of their head—blocky with a massive bill—and their long, straight, plank-like wings as they soar overhead.
Where to find them: Look for them roosting near bodies of water or gathering in communal roosts along expansive waterways that don’t freeze over in the winter—like the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.
Honorary raptor: Northern shrike
Check out that heavy, hooked bill—this ain’t your average songbird! Photo by Mick Thompson CC BY-NC
Okay, okay, this bird isn’t technically a raptor. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a birder who didn’t think this tough, carnivorous little songbird didn’t deserve a spot on the list.
Northern shrikes are another winter-only visitor, and a unique one at that. They are a small songbird—slightly smaller than a robin—with a hooked, raptor-like bill. Sporting a dark mask across their face, they perch high on treetops as they scan the open area below for prey. Their dark mask is thought to function like the black paint an athlete may smear under their eyes, cutting down on glare or reflections that might inhibit their detection of prey.
Northern shrikes will use their hooked bill to attack small mammals and, yes, even other birds! They may not eat their meal all in one go, though—especially since much of what they catch is large in comparison to their own small size. Leftovers and future meals will get impaled on a nearby sharp object—like a pointy branch or nearby barbed wire—to be eaten later. Vicious!
Investigate any small, lone bird perched up high in open areas. Even from a distance, their dark mask and black wing bars and black tail will stand out. Photo by Ryan Mandelbaum CC BY
Where to find them: Perched near the very tip-top of a tree that’s surrounded by open fields or grasslands, with brushy habitat nearby. If you see a small, robin-sized bird perched at the top of the only tree in the middle of a field … you best be taking a better look! That’s shrike territory.
There’s a couple raptors missing from this list—in particular, Cooper’s hawk and sharp-shinned hawk. Unlike everyone on the list above, you’re less likely to see these two raptors while out driving country roads. They didn’t make today’s blog, but I wanted to mention them so you don’t forget about them! You’re likely to spot Cooper’s hawks in particular around town, as they will frequent feeders (but not for the birdseed …) and are often spotted in local conservation parks.
To be honest, these two species are likely deserving of their own blog post, since they can look strikingly alike and fool a lot of birders. We’ll take a peek at how to distinguish them another time! Until then, you can read more about ALL of the raptors on this awesome page from Hawkwatch International. Another raptor of note to check out would be the northern goshawk—a bird that rarely ventures this far south to our area, but maybe, just maybe, might do so this winter.
Like the winter owls in last week’s post, these raptors are proving again that winter birding doesn’t have to be boring. The bird activity doesn’t disappear—it just shifts. Let your birding adapt with the seasons and you’ll find that you can experience the joy of birds all winter long.
If these recent “winter birding” posts have piqued your interest about how you can make the most of this season, be sure to tune into our December Evenings with Audubon event this Tuesday (tomorrow!) at 7pm. I’ll be be presenting on “The Wonders of Winter Birding,” ready to defend this birding season that simply doesn’t get enough love. Learn how to tune in here.
That’s all for now. Happy birding!
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Caitlyn is the Communications and Outreach Assistant at Madison Audubon. She’s crazy for birds because they changed her life. She’ll be back next Monday with some tips and tools for birders, new and experienced! Between now and then, she’d love to hear about the birds you’re seeing and hearing. Leave a comment below or email to drop her a line!
