Sharp-shinned Hawk

"Sharp-shinned" refers to the bird's flattened, thin tarsus (leg bone).

Other names: Bird hawk, bullet hawk, chicken hawk, little blue darter, slate-colored hawk. "Sharpie" for short.

Hunting habits: Catches birds on the wing. Seldom chases down its prey. If a sharpie doesn't grab a bird when it is first startled and flushed, the sharpie usually moves on to find another victim. Takes mostly birds from creeper to pigeon size--young birds sometimes ambitiously attack pileated woodpeckers and other birds much too large for them to handle. Occasionally eats mice, shrews, bats, frogs, lizards, grasshoppers, moths, and butterflies.

Migrating habits: Sharpies migrate alone or in twos or threes. Early in the day they are usually seen flying low, at tree-top level, hunting as they travel. As the day progresses, more and more of them are counted at high altitudes--these birds are most likely ones that have fed well during the day and are taking advantage of thermals or updrafts to cover greater distances.

Female sharpies tend to migrate before males of the same age, and the females winter further south than males. Because these birds hunt as they migrate, they are easily lured in to the banding station. From 1972 through 1980, the banders trapped 23% of all sharpies counted at the Ridge. Based on banding returns, sharpies migrating over Hawk Ridge generally head southeast to Illinois, and then southwest toward east Texas and Mexico, following the prevailing wind pattern.

Nesting habits: Usually nests in conifers--builds own nest each year or takes over crow or squirrel nest. Usually 4-5 eggs, which both parents incubate for 34-35 days. The young first fly when about 23 days old.

Length: 24-34 cm

Wingspan: 53-65 cm

Weight: adult males average 101 grams, adult females 177 grams. In the world of raptors, females are bigger, stronger, and usually more aggressive than males.

Life expectancy: One banded at Cedar Grove, Wisconsin was found dead in Minneapolis when over 12 years old.

Click here to see raptor statistics at Hawk Ridge