The oldest recorded Sharp-shinned Hawk was a male, and at least 12 years, 2 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Minnesota in 2009.Swallowing feathers is not normal for them, as it is for owls. Sharp-shinned Hawks carry their prey to a stump or low branch to pluck it before eating.

They’ve even been known to reach into wire-mesh bird traps to grab prey with their toes. Rather like a cat’s claws, Sharp-shinned Hawks use their long toes and talons to impale and hold moving prey.The parent approaches and calls, and the fledgling rises to grab prey out of its parent’s claws. The hawks are further divided into three basic types: harriers, accipiters, and buteos. The 8 species of hawks found in New Jersey are the Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, and the Red-shouldered Hawk. The 11 birds of prey covered in this note fall into two families, the Accipitridae which are generally called hawks and the Falconidae that includes the falcons. At first, they drop dead prey into the nest for the young to consume, but, as the fledglings gain skill, the parents switch to passing prey to the young hawks in flight. In Pennsylvania, hawks are protected by both federal and state laws. Adult Sharp-shinned Hawks continue to feed their offspring for several weeks after the youngsters have fledged.Sharp-shinned hawks eat mainly small birds, with the mean prey size less than 50 g. 106 g), females can be much larger (approximately 175 g). Although male sharp-shinned hawks are about the same size as Steller’s jays (approximately 100 g vs. The American crow is about 17.5 inches long, whereas the fish crow is larger, at 19 inches. Sharp-shinned hawks are fast and stealthy forest-dwelling hunters. Before delivering prey to their mates or young, male Sharp-shinned Hawks typically remove and eat the head. A male Sharp-shinned hawk will be between 9.1 and 11.8 inches long, with a wingspan of 17 to 23 inches, and weigh between 2.9 and 4.1 ounces. Nestlings feed first on small prey caught mainly by their father, switching as they grow to the larger prey that their mother can bring. The size difference between the sexes in Sharp-shinned Hawks influences the size of prey they can catch.This is a typical pattern for many hawks and owls, but otherwise rare in the bird world. Female Sharp-shinned Hawks are about a third bigger and heavier than males.More than 11,000 Sharp-shinned Hawks were seen on one October day at Cape May Point, New Jersey. The hawks follow similar landscape features and often are concentrated in certain areas. Sharp-shinned Hawks migrate south out of Canada in the fall and are observed at hawk watches in very large numbers.Sharp-shinned Hawk numbers declined during the DDT pesticide years (mid-1940s to 1972), but rebounded after DDT was banned.

Predator vs prey sharp shinned hawks