The duration a hawk remains in a specific location is dictated by the bird’s species, the season, and the availability of prey. Hawks are a diverse group of birds of prey, and their presence can range from a brief stay to a continuous, year-round commitment. To accurately determine the length of their stay, one must identify the species and understand the biological imperative, such as reproduction or migration, that governs its current behavior. The longest periods of residence are tied to the nesting season or, for certain species, their status as permanent inhabitants of a region.
Resident Versus Migratory Species
The most significant factor determining a hawk’s duration of stay is whether the species is classified as resident or migratory. Resident hawks, such as many Red-tailed Hawks in the southern and central latitudes of North America, remain in the same general territory throughout the year, provided local food sources are stable. They maintain a continuous presence for twelve months or more. Their counterparts in the northern regions may be short-distance migrants, traveling only a few hundred miles south for the winter to areas where they share the landscape with other resident populations.
In contrast, migratory species, like the Swainson’s Hawk or Broad-winged Hawk, are only present for a single season, arriving to breed and then departing entirely. The Swainson’s Hawk, for example, undertakes one of the longest migrations of any North American raptor, traveling thousands of miles to wintering grounds in South America. For these species, their presence in the breeding area is limited to the warm months necessary for raising young.
Duration of Breeding and Nesting
The longest sustained period a hawk commits to a single location is during the breeding cycle, which can last approximately four to six months. This time commitment begins with courtship and nest construction, often starting in late winter or early spring. The incubation period follows, which typically lasts between 28 and 35 days for common species like the Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk.
Once the eggs hatch, the nestling phase requires a sustained presence from the parents for about six to seven weeks until the young fledge, or leave the nest. Even after fledging, the young hawks are not immediately independent; they enter a dependency period where they rely on their parents for food and hunting lessons. This dependency can last an additional four to seven weeks, keeping the family unit near the nest site for the entire spring and summer before the young disperse and migratory species begin their journey south.
Defining the Territory and Hunting Range
When considering how long a hawk stays in “one area,” it is important to distinguish between the small, defended nesting territory and the much larger hunting range. The core nesting territory, which includes the nest and immediate perches, may be less than a square mile for a Red-tailed Hawk pair, and is actively guarded against competitors.
The home range, or hunting range, is a significantly larger space where the hawk spends the majority of its time foraging. This range is highly flexible and determined primarily by the density of available prey. For a large raptor like the Ferruginous Hawk, the home range can span up to 35 square miles, though the hawk may focus its hunting activities in specific core areas within that range.
Wintering and Stopover Durations
For species that migrate, the non-breeding periods still involve temporary but distinct stays in specific locations, which can be categorized as wintering or stopovers. Wintering grounds, typically located in southern North America or Central and South America, are areas where a hawk settles for the duration of the cold season, often staying for two to four months. For example, a Swainson’s Hawk may spend about 90 days on its wintering grounds before beginning its northward spring migration.
Stopover sites, by contrast, are used during the actual migration journey for brief periods of rest and refueling. Individual stopovers are transient, sometimes lasting only a few days, depending on the immediate availability of food and favorable weather conditions. However, the cumulative time spent at these sites can be substantial; for some migratory hawks, the total time spent in stopovers during one leg of the journey can approach the duration of their entire stay on the wintering grounds.
Summary
The duration a hawk stays in a single location is highly variable, spanning from just a few days during a migration stopover to a continuous presence lasting a full year or more. To estimate the time commitment, one must identify the hawk’s species and the reason for its presence. The longest stays are linked to the four-to-six-month reproductive cycle, while the shortest are the brief stops necessary to complete an annual migration.