Broad winged Hawk in Texas is a common and sometimes extremely abundant migrant. Despite a cold front and a strong NW wind, a small group of Broad winged hawks passed over my neighborhood. A highly cropped photo of one of the passage birds this morning.
The Broad winged Hawk in Texas is the smallest and most migratory Buteo in eastern North America.
SIZE: Approximate Length: 16 inches; Approximate wingspan: 34 inches
Additionally this hawk inhabits most of the forests of the eastern United States and southern Canada. The Broad Winged is a long distance migrant that spends the winter in Central and South America. Broadwings flock during migration, and during the fall migration, flocks of tens of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks can be seen in southern Texas. Broad winged Hawks eat mostly small mammals, amphibians, and insects. They are ambush hunters however occasionally hunt on the wing.
One can sometimes find the Broad winged Hawk in Texas as a dark morph. However they are exceedingly rare. I was lucky to capture a photo of an immature dark morph in the fall of 2012 along the Texas coast. The dark morph hawk is a very rare variation.
I originally identified the bird below as a Broad winged Hawk dark morph. After some input it is clear that it is an immature White-tailed. Hawk.
The Broad wing is declining in some areas as a result of forest fragmentation. However Broad winged numbers are relatively stable. The Broad winged Hawk is least concern on the IUCN Red List. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 1.7 million individuals.
During the last week in September, typically over 700,000 broad-wings pass near Corpus Christi, Texas. The birds form huge flocks called kettles. Small numbers, mostly juveniles, winter in southern Florida and southern Texas. Rarely in California. The bulk of the birds winter in southern Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia.
For posts on individual species, navigate to the “Birds I have Known” category