From Broad Wings to Red Tails

Broad-winged hawk on migration (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

15 September 2019:

You can tell what month it is at a Pennsylvania hawk watch by noticing the most abundant raptor.

If you’re seeing a lot of broad-winged hawks, it must be September. Broad-wing migration peaks right now; they’ll be gone by the end of the month.

If you’re seeing a lot of turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks it must be October. In the fall of 2018, 90% of the turkey vultures that passed the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch went by in October.

Turkey vulture in flight (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Red-tailed hawks spread their migration over several months. Last year at the Allegheny Front roughly 25% were seen in September, 50% in October, 25% in November.

Red-tailed hawk at the Allegheny Front, 31 October 2016 (photo by Steve Gosser)

If golden eagles are at their most abundant, it must be mid-October to mid-November. It’s my favorite time of year at the Allegheny Front.

Golden eagle at the Allegheny Front, 2 Nov 2016 (photo by Steve Gosser)

Pennsylvania hawk watches are about to switch from broad-wings to red-tails. Count the raptors to find out what month it is. 😉

(Broad-winged hawk and turkey vulture photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the originals. Red-tailed hawk and golden eagle by Steve Gosser)

3 thoughts on “From Broad Wings to Red Tails

  1. I saw what must have been a golden eagle flying by the Aspinwall Riverfront Park in Aspinwall early Saturday morning. It was fantastic.

    1. Andrew, golden eagles are very very rare in Allegheny County but immature bald eagles — which look quite similar — show up regularly, especially along the rivers. Look for a post in the next few days about how to tell the difference between immature bald eagles and golden eagles. p.s. Golden eagles eat meat so they will be on land; bald eagles eat fish so they are at water.

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