Look Up! An Introduction to Identifying Raptors in Flight
When hawks and falcons stream across the sky in large numbers, you need a distinct set of birding skills to tell them apart.
When raptors stream across the sky by the dozens, hundreds, or thousands, your ground-level ID clues, such as coloration or field marks, become illegible. Instead, you have to rely on body-shape silhouettes and flight patterns to distinguish between species. The best way to learn these cues is by going to a hawkwatch, says Melissa Roach, program director at NJ 探花精选's Cape May Bird Observatory in New Jersey. 鈥淢ost of the year raptors are spread out, they鈥檙e hard to find, they鈥檙e in low numbers and low densities鈥攕o you don鈥檛 get the repetition you need to learn any new skill.鈥 Not only do you get raptor volume at a hawkwatch, but you can also sit near experts, like Roach, who will walk you through the identification process. She gets you started here with a few widespread U.S. species.
Red-tailed Hawk
鈥淭his is your baseline buteo,鈥 Roach says. 鈥淟earn it in and out, then base other species off of it.鈥 Red-tailed Hawks are among the biggest raptors, but size varies: A large female can weigh twice as much as a small male. Their rounded wings appear muscular. 鈥淚t looks like they have biceps,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a skinny or slim wing鈥攊t鈥檚 thick and bulging.鈥 Red-tailed Hawks are experts at soaring and, when riding a strong updraft, can glide effortlessly for minutes at a time. The heavy buteos appear to confidently master the air, taking wide, slow turns and powerfully flapping only when it is absolutely necessary.
Sharp-shinned vs. Cooper鈥檚 Hawk
鈥淭his is one of the hardest IDs, so don鈥檛 feel intimidated when you don鈥檛 get it right away,鈥 Roach says. Sharpies and Cooper鈥檚 are agile accipiters with short, rounded wings and long tails. Sharpies are energetic and flap often, while the sturdier Cooper鈥檚 prefer to soar, executing forceful, deliberate flaps. 鈥淭he main thing to look at is the head projection,鈥 she advises. A Sharp-shinned Hawk鈥檚 small head sits within a valley between its wings, created when it juts its wrists forward. A Cooper鈥檚 Hawk鈥檚 relatively larger head projects in front of the wings鈥 leading edge.
American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon
Falcon migration typically follows coastlines. American Kestrels, the most diminutive U.S. falcons, are rather dainty, playfully wandering in flight and flapping more than their cousins. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the happy-go-lucky falcon,鈥 Roach says. 鈥淭hey look like they鈥檙e having a great time.鈥 Merlins are superficially similar to kestrels, but in the air they have an entirely different attitude. 鈥淢erlins fly with a purpose,鈥 she says. They don鈥檛 wander. 鈥淏efore you can say, 鈥業t鈥檚 a falcon,鈥 it鈥檚 gone.鈥 Peregrine Falcons are larger than the other two, with a broad chest and extra-long wings and tail. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e bigger and more powerful overall,鈥 she says. They cross the sky like a jet, often surpassing other raptors in the stream.