Broad-winged hawk. Photo by Marian McSherry
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In On the Move, our regular migration column, we feature pairs of eBird distribution maps that you can use to compare where interesting birds are at different times of the year. We featured the Broad-winged Hawk, pictured above, in our October 2018 issue.
Broad-winged Hawk
eBird migration maps show where Broad-winged Hawks were spotted in June (left) and September.
Shy and withdrawn during the breeding season, the Broad-winged Hawk moves in impressive numbers along upland ridges and other migratory funnel points in the fall, where it migrates in large flocks or kettles of birds using favorable wind conditions for long-distance migration. In June, the Broad-winged Hawk can be found in the eastern United States and the boreal forest of Canada, where it breeds in deciduous and mixed-deciduous woods. In September, many individuals moved south. Huge concentrations of migratory individuals are found in places like Hawk Ridge, on the south shore of Lake Superior, and at Hawk Mountain in the Pennsylvania Appalachians. Birders in the western United States and southwestern Canada can expect to see small numbers of broad-winged birds flying over hawk viewing sites on favorable weather days in September and beginning of October.
View eBird’s real-time distribution maps for the Broad-winged Hawk.
eBird is the real-time online checklist maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. “On the Move” is written by Garrett MacDonald, Chris Wood, Marshall Iliff and Brian Sullivan of eBird. Submit your bird sightings at ebird.org.
A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the September/October 2018 issue of BirdWatching.
