The Broad-winged Hawk Project

The broad-winged hawk nests in forests throughout eastern and central United States and southern Canada. It is designated a “Pennsylvania species of conservation concern” as its nesting distribution has declined by 16% since the 1980s. Regional declines have been noted in other northeastern states and on some migration counts.  

Broad-winged hawks are one of the most abundant migrants observed at Hawk Mountain each autumn, as they concentrate in large flocks along the Kittatinny Ridge and at other watchsites during September. Although they are the most numerous migrant seen in the east, comparatively little research has been conducted on habitat needs or migration and wintering ecology.

In 2014 Hawk Mountain launched The Broad-winged Hawk Project, focusing on various aspects of the broad-winged Hawks ecology during both the breeding and nonbreeding periods. Using nest cameras and on-the-ground field observations, the research team analyzed differences in parental behavior, prey and nest material deliveries from incubation through fledgling among three forested regions in Pennsylvania (see McCabe et al. 2019 for results). In addition, broad-winged hawks were trapped at their nest sites and equipped with satellite transmitters to track their migration from North to South America, and back. The research team tracked 14 hawks from two breeding populations (Pennsylvania, USA and Alberta, Canada) between 2014-2019 to determine if the two populations differed in migration timing, routes, distance traveled, arrival and departure dates, and overwintering locations (see McCabe et al. 2020 for results).

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