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impressive than at a distance. They are handsome birds with strong, curved beaks, and piercing eyes that reflect their hunting habits. Hawks are meat-eaters that belong to the category of birds known as raptors. Their talons are long, sharp, and curved and they use them to catch food by grabbing their prey. If their prey is too large for them to swallow whole they tear meat apart with their beaks.
The adult Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is familiar to many county residents and is frequently seen. It is actually found across the country, it has broad wings and it has a long, red, chestnut tail. This hawk is usually about 19-26 inches in length and has a wingspan of about 4 fc>9 feet.
The red-tailed Hawk is usually found soaring over open country or fields.
Redtails prefer small mammals, although they do snack on birds. If mice or other rodents live in your garden you will most likely have a visit from one of these hawks.
Unless you have a very large, very Wild piece of property, you are unlikely to host nesting hawks. Most hawks prefer to build their large, well-constructed nests high in the trees in a wooded area. The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the exception. This small, slim falcon will accept nest boxes mounted relatively close to areas frequented by humans. Nest boxes should be mounted on a tree or pole with a good view of the wide-open spaces.
The male kestrel has long pointed blue-gray wings, a chestnut back, and black on the sides of its head that resembles sideburns. The somewhat larger female looks the same except her wings are chestnut instead of blue-gray. Both male and female are about 9-12 inches in length.
Kestrels are top-notch grasshopper eaters, they also eat mice, crickets, frogs, and snakes. Kestrels are also called "sparrow hawks" because they eat small birds as well.
There are several more members of the hawk family, such as the Cooper’s (Accipiter cooperiil and Sharp-Shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus). These two hawks are very similar, the sharpshinned is a little bigger than the average pigeon. The Cooper's hawk is the bigger of the two but still not quite crow size.
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