For the birds: Sharp-shinned Hawk

Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk

Photo by Ron Green

By Christine Southwick

Tilting its short rounded wings and twisting its long tail, this small predator catches unwary birds, be they feeding on the ground in the forests or at a neighborhood bird feeder. The smallest of the Accipiter group, Sharp-shinned Hawks, so called because of their skinny legs with sharp shins, are able to navigate quietly and quickly through even dense forest, and when they spot a likely meal, overtake it with a burst of speed.

Ninety percent of their food is small birds, with the other percentage being small rodents, snakes, frogs, lizards, and larger insects.

The female can be twice as large as the male, and will capture the larger prey, usually up to a flicker or maybe even a small grouse, while the male will hunt sparrows, chickadees, maybe a hummingbird or two.

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk

Photo by Michael Hobbs

Sharp-shinned hawks hide their 2-5 egg nests up high in a large conifer, or a dense group of trees to protect the nest from owls, larger hawks, and humans who hunt their prized multi-spotted eggs, or who shoot them, believing them to be the chicken-hunting Cooper’s Hawks.

Sharp-shinned Hawks are hard to tell from the slightly larger Cooper’s Hawk, and it doesn’t help that the female Sharpy can be as large as a male Cooper’s.

Sharp-shinned Hawks prefer coniferous or mixed forests, and will rarely be found out in the large open areas, except during migration.

The majority of Sharpys breed in the temperate boreal forests in Canada and migrate to southern US, Mexico, or Central America, but there is a resident population in the Northwest that breed in higher elevations, and then winter here in our area. Perhaps some are even breeding locally, but more study is needed, since their secretive ways make them difficult to locate during breeding season.

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk

Photo by Randy

Sharp-shinned hawks have a “Superman’s build”, being broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hips, with a square tail and long pencil-thin legs. Side view, their eyes appear to be centered between the front and back of their smallish head, and in flight the head barely extends past their wings. Their flight pattern is usually several quick strokes then a short glide. They have a square edge to their tail, a field mark that is helpful, but can be hard to judge since this is only obvious in perched birds.

Juvies have yellow eyes and are brown above, with chests of a diffuse brown; adults have red eyes, and have gray upper -parts and barred reddish chests.

If the birds at your feeder sound a quick alarm and scatter, look for a Sharp-shinned Hawk searching for a meal. This is an opportunity to watch the checks and balances of nature right in your own yard.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she's sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.