How long do hawks stay in one area?

[Nicole01]

Last night I spotted a dreaded hawk just as I let my girls out to free range. I watched the hawk catch a song bird in mid air. Unfortunatly, this is no small hawk. I noticed a shorter tail and the tail had a black tip. I don't know the breed of this hawk, as I'm unfamiliar with them. I heard the hawk's whirling call for a few minutes before it took off. This hawk took out the song bird with in a few feet from my house. My daughter and I gathered up the chickens back in the coop. A few minutes later, I went walking through the woods/trees and I could not find it. This all happened at 6:30-7pm at night.

How long do hawks hang around one area? It's going to be near 90 and I'm hoping to let my girls out. Would I be able to see this hawk in the trees if it's near, or do they stay well hidden?

 

[Snowygirl]

oooh....i've had hawk problems and if you put your girlies in for like 2 days sometimes the hawk will forget about the hens, AND leave u alone. it's worth a shot.

 

[Nambroth]

I regret that there's really no good answer to your question! If I knew the species I could make an educated guess but...

There are many, many variables.

Some hawks live in an area year-round. They will stay where there is food, or move on if there is not. But, it's important to note that the range of a single hawk can be many miles each day. Even if you remove the food source (of your chickens) for a few days, the hawk could still be finding meals elsewhere and stay in the region.

Some hawks migrate through. This is the time for fall migration for many hawk species. Some hawk species migrate, some do not. Some individual hawks migrate, some do not.

If you can ID your hawk, we can figure out if it's likely to be just passing through or if it might be a resident.
This might help! http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse.aspx?shape=36,10

 

[Nicole01]

Quote:
Thank you! I'm 100% sure it was an adult broad-winged hawk!

 

[Nambroth]

The good news is that if it was a broad-winged hawk, he or she will probably not be staying too late into the fall and winter. While there are reports of individuals wintering over in the northern states, it's not the 'norm', and MN is a pretty hard winter so your hawk will probably move on soon.

 

[stoopid]

I'm on Long Island, and have hawks year round. Once they find the cheap easy fast food emporium in my backyard, it's hard to get them to leave. I have both red tail, and sharp shinned. Hate them! They have eaten way too many of my babies. If I lock them up for weeks, and let them out, the next day one is gone. Very smart birds. Have tried everything known to scare them off. So far the best answer is to string line across the yard between the trees so it confuses them when fly in for the kill. DH has 2 MILES of string in the backyard. Looks like crap, but works better than anything else. STILL NOT 100% effective. UGH. Good luck!