In Search of the Ferruginous Hawk

Have you heard the news? A ferruginous hawk has been sited at Prairie State Park (this is the park where I work)! 

Mature Ferruginous Hawk

Photo Credit

Normally these hawks are found in the western half of our nation...from western Kansas to California...not here on the tallgrass prairies of southwest Missouri. 

The hawk was first identified by a visitor to the park on November 23rd and was reported daily through the 29th; I found out about the hawk on December 5th and have looked for it ever since.

Over the month of December I've spotted hawks of practically every native kind...

...red-tailed...

...red-shouldered...

...rough-legged, broad-winged, northern harriers, and the smallest and one of the prettiest hawks in our state...the American Kestrel (a.k.a. a sparrow hawk)...

A couple of times I thought for sure that I had found the bird that I was seeking, but, much to my chagrin, after contacting a birding friend within the Missouri Department of Conservation, the hawks that I thought might be the ferruginous turned out to be nothing more than red-tails.

"Look at that beak!" my friend told me. "Look at the beak!"

Photo of Ferruginous Hawk Taken by Visitor

at Prairie State Park - November 23, 2020

Photo Credit

I looked at the beak. The beak looked more like an eagle's beak than any hawk beak I knew!

Finally, on my way home from work on Monday, I spotted a really big hawk on top of a utility pole. I stopped and started taking pictures. None of the pictures turned out very good, but I could tell that the beak on this bird was different than the others.

On Tuesday my husband and I went back out and we discovered that the big hawk was hanging out in the same general area that I had seen it the day before. This time I got better pictures!

Immature Ferruginous Hawk

12/17/20

Prairie State Park

I again sent them to my friend in the Missouri Department of Conservation...and this time, he said, "Look at that beak!!! YES! You've got it!" 

After days of looking I had finally found (and photographed) the ferruginous hawk! 

Immature Ferruginous Hawk

12/17/20

Prairie State Park

It has now been added to my life-long bird list and I cannot tell you how excited I am about seeing it!

What about you? What kind of hawks do you have where you live?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

Recent and related articles that you might enjoy reading...

The Red-Shouldered Hawk

At The Edge of the Woods

Prairie At Night

The Red-Shouldered Hawk

We have a pair of red-shouldered hawks that frequent our neighborhood. In fact, this spring the birds nested less than a block away from our home; last year they nested in a tree that grows in the fencerow behind us and casts its shade into our backyard.

Saturday afternoon, while it's mate perched precariously atop a catalpa tree across the street, this red-shouldered beauty perched on the electric pole that sits next to the alley at the corner of our property.

The bird put on quite a show for us by flying from one pole to another. It was so awesome to see the pair of them and this one from such a short distance away...only a few yards!

I was surprised to discover that, although red-shouldered hawks are found statewide, they are generally associated with forests and near water. They are also considered uncommon in southern Missouri and rare in the western quarter...which, I would say, includes here, where we live, on the tallgrass prairie in the southwest corner of the state. Interesting!

To learn more about red-shouldered hawks in Missouri click HERE.

Until next time...

~Rebecca

Recent and related posts that you might enjoy reading...

At The Edge of the Woods

Prairie At Night

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