Be eagle-eyed to identify hawk

Article by: MINNESOTA ORNITHOLOGISTS UNION
Updated: May 15, 2008 - 9:50 PM

It's exciting to see a hawk, especially while one is hunting, but distinguishing one hawk from another can be difficult, even for experienced birders.

Red-shouldered hawk in flight

Photo: Jim Williams, Special To The Star

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Q The other morning, there was a hawk in my spruce tree, eating its prey. The hawk was about the size of a crow, with a barred breast and white feathers in its wings. What kind of hawk could it have been?

A It could have been a red-shouldered hawk, a Cooper's hawk or even a Northern goshawk. These birds all are gray or brown overall and have barred breasts, though the barring can be horizontal or vertical and composed of lines or spots depending on the species.

So look to the face, head and tail colors and patterns to tell these birds apart. A bold white eyeline suggests a goshawk. Tail patterns with narrow black and white horizontal banding would indicate a red-shouldered hawk. Broader bands point to a Cooper's hawk.

If you want to learn more about hawks, pick up a good guidebook. Without training yourself to look for certain features, identifying hawks can be very confusing, even for veteran birders.

Luring cardinals in southwest Minnesota

Q I can't seem to attract cardinals to the feeders in my Pipestone County yard. Any suggestions?

A Northern cardinals are considered a somewhat irregularly occurring species in Pipestone County. Feeding with blackoil sunflower seeds and planting shrubs and small trees may help you attract cardinals moving through your area. That may also help lure other bird beauties, such as indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and chickadees.

This column is prepared by Minnesota Ornithologists' Union members Mark Alt and Anthony Hertzel. To ask questions about back-yard birding for this column, call 612-673-4363 or send questions to birds@stribmail.com. Questions will be answered in the newspaper only.