Broad-winged Hawk

Overview

For most of the year the Broad-winged Hawk is a modest, compact buteo of eastern forest — quietly nesting in the canopy, easy to overlook. But in mid-September, it transforms the sky over South Texas into one of birding's great spectacles. Hundreds of thousands funnel through a narrow corridor along the Gulf Coast, concentrating at Hazel Bazemore County Park near Corpus Christi and continuing south past Bentsen SP. On a single peak day, over a million birds can pass through — spiraling in tight “kettles” on thermals before streaming southward toward Central and South America.

Identification

A compact, stocky buteo (34–44 cm / 13–17 in) with relatively pointed wings and a short tail. Adults show a brown back, barred rufous-and-white underparts, and a boldly banded tail with two or three broad black-and-white bands — the white bands roughly equal in width to the black. The underwing in flight shows a pale center with a dark border, and the wing tips are dark.

Immatures have a streaked brown breast and a finely banded tail. The most similar species encountered in migration is the Red-shouldered Hawk, which is larger with a longer tail and finer barring on the underparts. In kettle counts, the distinctive stubby silhouette and tail bands are the key features.

Habitat & Range

Breeds in mature deciduous and mixed forest across eastern North America from southern Canada to the Gulf States. During migration it funnels along ridgelines and the Gulf Coast — geography that concentrates soaring birds. The most spectacular concentrations in South Texas occur at Hazel Bazemore County Park (near Corpus Christi) in September, which regularly records the highest single-day hawk counts anywhere in North America.

After South Texas, birds continue south through Mexico and Central America to their wintering grounds in tropical lowland forest from southern Mexico to Bolivia.

Behavior & Diet

On the breeding grounds, feeds mainly on small mammals, frogs, and large insects taken from the forest floor. During migration, birds feed little — they rely on fat reserves and exploit thermals for the long journey south, minimizing energy expenditure by soaring rather than flapping.

Migration behavior is the spectacle: birds gather in rising thermals, circling upward in tight masses called kettles (sometimes containing thousands of individuals), before peeling off the top to glide south in long streams. Peak migration in South Texas occurs in the third week of September.

Best Time to See

Mid-September — Broad-winged Hawks migrate through South Texas in one of the most spectacular wildlife events in North America. The peak window is narrow: typically September 15–25, when kettles of thousands spiral overhead on thermals. Hazel Bazemore County Park near Corpus Christi is the premier watch site. In South Texas proper, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP and roadside hawk watches can produce counts of hundreds on good days. Come early, bring a chair, and look for spiraling thermals of birds climbing the sky.

In the News