Red-tailed hawks are a common raptor across North America, inhabiting diverse environments from deserts and grasslands to forests and urban areas. These birds are frequently observed perching on roadside poles or soaring overhead, making them one of the most visible birds of prey. This article details the breeding habits of red-tailed hawks, covering their mating season, nesting, incubation, and the process of raising their young.
Mating Season Timing
The mating season for red-tailed hawks begins in late winter and extends into early spring, from February through May. This timing can vary geographically, with birds in warmer southern regions initiating activity earlier than those in northern areas. Red-tailed hawks form monogamous pairs, often mating for life and defending the same nesting territory for years.
Courtship behaviors signal the start of the breeding period, involving elaborate aerial displays. Both the male and female soar together in wide circles at high altitudes, vocalizing with shrill cries. The male performs spectacular maneuvers, such as steep dives followed by ascents, to impress the female. The pair may interlock talons and spiral towards the ground during these aerial acrobatics. These courtship flights can last for several minutes and precede copulation.
Nesting and Incubation
Following successful courtship, red-tailed hawks begin nest building, which takes about a week. Both parents participate in constructing the nest, a bulky structure made of sticks and twigs. Nests, known as eyries, are large, often measuring around 30 inches across and several feet high. The interior of the nest is lined with softer materials such as bark strips, fresh foliage, pine needles, or other plant matter.
Nests are placed in the crowns of tall trees, providing a commanding view of the surrounding landscape, though they can also be found on cliff ledges or human-made structures like towers or billboards. Some pairs reuse and refurbish nests from previous years, while others build new ones. Females lay a clutch of 2 to 4 eggs, sometimes up to 5, with each egg laid about 48 hours apart. The eggs are whitish or buff-colored, marked with brown blotches or speckles.
Incubation begins shortly after the first egg is laid and lasts for 28 to 35 days. While both parents share incubation duties, the female performs the majority of this task. During this period, the male provides food to the incubating female. The staggered egg-laying means that hatching can occur over a few days, with the first-laid eggs hatching sooner.
Raising the Young
Once hatched, red-tailed hawk chicks, known as eyasses, are altricial, dependent on parents for warmth and food. For the first few weeks, the female remains with the young, brooding them, while the male brings most of the food to the nest. The female then tears the prey into smaller, manageable pieces for the nestlings.
The young hawks grow rapidly, with their flight feathers beginning to appear around two to three weeks after hatching. They start exercising their wings around 30 days of age, building the muscle strength necessary for flight. Fledging, the stage when the young birds take their first flights, occurs between 42 to 46 days after hatching.
Even after fledging, the young birds remain dependent on their parents for several weeks, continuing to receive food and guidance. This post-fledging dependency period can last for four to seven weeks as the juveniles hone their flight skills and learn to hunt independently. The parents continue to support their offspring as they gradually become more self-sufficient and eventually disperse from the parental territory.