Hawks in Ohio – 8 Species You Can Spot In Ohio

Do hawks live in Ohio?

Yes!

There are a lot of hawks in Ohio.

Some migrate through the state, but others breed and winter in the Buckeye State’s woodlands, fields, and wetlands.

Whether driving along, going for a hike, or visiting a birding festival, the hawks of Ohio are easy.

Learn all about the hawks that live in Ohio in this article!

Hawks That Live in Ohio

According to eBird data, in 2022-2023, there were 8 different species of hawks in Ohio.

We’ll give you an overview of these birds, so if you see one perched or soaring in the sky, it will be easier to identify the hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk (Juvenile) © Greg Lavaty.

Scientific name: Buteo jamaicensis

Speed: 20-40 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 19 inches, 2.4 pounds
Wingspan: 49 inches
Call: “keeeyah!”

The Red-tailed Hawk is a big and bulky hawk with dark brown upperparts and long, broad wings. Adults have a broad reddish tails and both sexes are similar (although females are larger than males).

In the east, adults have pale underparts with dark marks on their belly, but western birds can be dark brown, buff, or reddish-brown below. Young birds have brown tails with darks barring.

In flight, all Red-tailed Hawks show a large, somewhat square-shaped, pale area near the tips of their wings.

This species preys on a variety of small animals, including squirrels, rats, snakes, and birds. It catches prey by swooping down from a perch or from a soaring flight.

Red-tailed Hawks build a messy stick nest high in a tree or on the ledge of a building. They are year-round residents in Ohio.

They use a wide range of habitats in Alaska and the USA, much of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and parts of Central America.

Key Identifications:

• Large, hefty hawk with a reddish tail and dark marks on its pale belly.
• Preys on small mammals, snakes, and birds.
• Builds a bulky stick nest high in a tree.
• Makes loud, jay-like, ringing calls, “keeeyah!”.

The Red-tailed Hawk is a hefty bird of prey. In most places, this is the big hawk seen perched next to and soaring over roads and fields. The “raptor scream” often heard in movies and television shows is the call of the Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

© Tom Grey

Scientific name: Buteo lineatus

Speed: 18-34 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 17 inches, 1.4 pounds
Wingspan: 40 inches
Call: “keer keer keer keer keer!”

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk with reddish-orange underparts and shoulders, and black and white on its wings and tail.

Both sexes are similar, but as with most raptors, females are larger than males. Young birds are brown above and have dark streaks on pale underparts.

In flight, all ages of this hawk species are best recognized by their longish, black and white tail and long wings with a pale crescent-shaped mark near the tip of the wing.

Red-shouldered Hawks prey on amphibians and other small animals. They forage by waiting on a perch and then swooping down to catch the animal on the ground.

This species builds a bulky stick nest high in a tree in wooded and semi-wooded areas, often near wetlands.

The Red-shouldered Hawk lives in a variety of woodland habitats in southeastern Canada, the eastern USA, California, southeastern Oregon, and Baja California, Mexico.

Key Identifications:

• Medium-sized, colorful hawk with reddish-orange underparts and shoulder, and black and white upperparts and tail.
• Forages for snakes and other small animals on the ground in woodland habitats.
• Builds a bulky stick nest high in a tree.
• Makes loud, jay-like, ringing calls, “keer keer keer keer keer!”

This raptor lives in a variety of wooded areas and even wooded neighborhoods in California and Florida. This species can join American Crows to harass and chase away Great-horned Owls.

Cooper’s Hawk

Scientific name: Accipiter cooperii

Speed: 21-55 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 16.5 inches, 1 pound
Wingspan: 31 inches
Call: “kek kek kek kek kek!”

The Cooper’s Hawk is a fair-sized hawk with a long, rounded tail and a blocky, square-shaped head. Adults are blue-gray above and have orange barring below.

Both sexes look similar, although females are larger. They also often show a dark cap, have pale grayish on their face and side of the neck, and dark banding on their tail. Young birds are shaped like adults but are dark brown above.

In flight, this species uses its rounded wings to make a few deep flaps followed by a brief glide.

The Cooper’s Hawk prey on medium-sized birds, reptiles, and small mammals.

Cooper’s Hawks build a bulky stick nest high in a tree and often nest in parks. They live in Ohio year-round, but their numbers are a bit lower during the breeding season.

This species lives in a variety of wooded and semi-wooded habitats in southern Canada, most of the USA, and in parts of Mexico.

Key Identifications:

• Fair-sized hawk with orange barring below, blue gray above, and a long rounded tail.
• Preys on small mammals and starlings and dove-sized birds in woodlands, parks, and towns.
• Builds a bulky stick nest high in a tree.
• Usually quiet but when breeding, it makes a loud barking call, “kek kek kek kek kek!”

The Cooper’s Hawk is a fair-sized hawk with a long, rounded tail. In many areas, it has become adapted to people and catches birds and small mammals in woodlands and towns. The pesticide DDT caused large declines in Cooper’s Hawk populations in the 1950s and 60s but since then, this species has regained its numbers and become a common bird.

Northern Harrier

Scientific name: Circus hudsonius

Speed: 21-38 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 18 inches, 15 ounces
Wingspan: 43 inches
Call: “che che che che che che”

The Northern Harrier is a fair-sized, unique hawk with long wings, a long tail, and a white rump. Adult males have gray upperparts, head, and breast. They also have some pale brown spotting on their underparts and black tips on their wings.

Females are dark brown above and have dark brown streaks on pale underparts. Young birds are also dark brown above but have deep orange-buff underparts.

All Northern Harriers have a white rump and glide low over the ground on long wings held in a “V” shape.

This species prey on small animals caught on the ground, sometimes after hovering.

It uses grass and other vegetation to make a shallow platform nest in thick wetland or grassland areas.

Northern Harriers breed in grasslands and other open habitats in Alaska, Canada, California, and the northern and central USA. They winter in much of the USA, Mexico, and rarely to northern South America.

Key Identifications:

• Distinctive long-winged, long-tailed hawk with a white rump.
• Glides low over the ground to catch rodents and other small animals in marshes and other open grassy habitats.
• Builds.
• Makes a repetitive, woodpecker-like call, “che che che che che che”

Northern Harriers are long-tailed, long-winged hawks with white rumps. They glide low over the ground of grasslands and marshes to hunt for small animals. This bird and the Hen Harrier of northern Eurasia used to be considered the same species but despite their similar appearance, studies have shown that the Northern Harrier is a distinct species.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Scientific name: Accipiter striatus

Speed: 16-60 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 11 inches, 5 ounces
Wingspan: 23 inches
Call: “kew kew kew kew kew kew kew kew”

The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk with a long, rectangular tail and rounded wings. Adults have blue-gray upperparts, orange barring on their underparts, and dark bands on their tail.

Females are larger than males, and young birds are dark brown above with thick brown streaks on pale underparts.

This species flies with several quick wing beats followed by brief glides. When flying, its head doesn’t stick out as much as a Cooper’s Hawk, showing a square-tipped tail.

The Sharp-shinned Hawk preys on small birds up to the size of an American Robin. It mostly catches birds around the same size as sparrows, warblers, and vireos by quickly flying and catching them in vegetation.

This hawk builds a bulky stick nest high in a conifer.

Sharp-shinned Hawks live in wooded habitats in Alaska, much of Canada and the USA, Mexico, parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of South America.

Key Identifications:

• Small hawk with rounded wings and a long, rectangular tail.
• Preys on small birds in woodland habitats.
• Builds bulky stick nest high in a conifer.
• Usually quiet but on breeding grounds makes falcon-like, repeated ringing calls “kew kew kew kew kew kew kew kew”.

This is the smallest hawk in Ohio, often attacking small birds at bird feeders. The Sharp-shinned Hawk gets its name from its thin legs that have angled, “sharp” shins.

Broad-winged Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo platypterus

Speed: 20-40 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 15 inches, 14 ounces
Wingspan: 34 inches
Call: “sipeeeeeeeee”

The Broad-winged Hawk is a smallish raptor around the same size as a crow. Adults are dark brown above, have dark, reddish-brown barring below, and a broad tail with a few wide, white bands.

Both sexes look the same and also have a thick dark mark on each side of their throat, although females are larger.  Young birds have dark brown streaks on pale underparts.

In flight, this species often soars, showing a broad black and white tail, and has long wings shaped like a “paring knife” with a dark trailing edge.

This raptor preys on voles, frogs, insects, and other small animals. It catches food by waiting on a perch and swooping to the ground.

Broad-winged Hawks make a bulky stick nest high in a tree.

This small hawk breeds in forest habitats in central and southeastern Canada and much of the eastern USA. It winters in southern Florida and Mexico south to Bolivia.

Key Identifications:

• Chunky, smallish, crow-sized hawk with a few white bands on its tail and underparts with brown barring or streaks.
• Preys on insects and small animals in woodland habitats.
• Builds a bulky nest high in a tree.
• Makes a high-pitched call, “sipeeeeeeeee”

This chunky, crow-sized hawk has a few prominent white bands on its broad tail and either dark barring below or dark streaks. It often soars above and near woodland habitats. In southern Texas and some other places, thousands of Broad-winged Hawks can be seen as they migrate between breeding and tropical wintering grounds.

Rough-legged Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo lagopus

Speed: 22-28 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 22 inches, 1.3 to 3.6 pounds
Wingspan: 53 inches
Call: “reeaaaauh!”

The Rough-legged Hawk is a long-winged hawk with a black and white tail. There are two color morphs – both with broad white patches near dark wing tips, and a longish pale tail with a broad black tip.

Pale females and juveniles are pale gray-brown with a black belly and black “wrists” in their wings. Pale adult males are colder gray, have less black on their belly, and heavily streaked breasts.

Dark females and juveniles are dark brown except for their tails and flight feathers. Dark adult males are black except for their flight feathers and tail.

In flight, this species holds its wings in a shallow “V.”

Rough-legged Hawks soar and hover over open fields where they prey on voles and other small animals.

It builds a bulky nest on a cliff or rocky outcropping.

The Rough-legged Hawk breeds in the tundra in Alaska, northern Canada, and northern Eurasia, and winters in open fields in southern Canada, the northern, central, and western USA, and Europe and Asia.

Key Identifications:

• Big hawk with a longish black and white tail, and long wings with broad white patches near the dark wing tips.
• Preys on rodents and other small animals in wide open habitats.
• Builds a big, bulky nest on cliffs and rocky outcroppings in tundra.
• Makes a loud, clear descending call, “reeaaaauh!”.

The Rough-legged Hawk is a big, long-winged hawk with a black and white tail, and broad white patches near the tips of their wings. They hover and soar over weedy fields and other open habitats to hunt for rodents and birds. This species is one of the only hawks in North America that has feathers on its legs.

Swainson’s Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo swainsoni

Speed: 15-60 miles per hour
Length & Weight: 19 inches, 1.9 pounds
Wingspan: 51 inches
Call: “eeeah!”

The Swainson’s Hawk is a big hawk with dark-brown upperparts, long, pointed wings with dark flight feathers, and a broad tail with fine dark barring and a dark tip. Males and females are similar although females are larger.

Adults can have a white throat, front, wing linings, and underparts with a red-brown breast. They can also have a white throat and front, and reddish brown underparts and wing linings, or be entirely dark brown.

Young birds can have dark markings on pale underparts or be mostly dark below.

This species catches grasshoppers and small animals on the ground. It forages by soaring and then swooping down or walking on the ground.

It builds a bulky stick nest in a tree.

Swainson’s Hawks breed in grasslands, meadows, and other open habitats in central and western Canada and the USA. They migrate through the central USA and winter in grasslands in Argentina. A few also migrate through and winter in southern Florida.

Key Identifications:

• Large, long-winged hawk with dark flight feathers and a broad tail with fine dark banding and a dark tip.
• Feeds on insects and small animals in prairies and other open habitats.
• Builds a bulky stick nest in a tree.
• Makes a loud, descending, single note, “eeeah!”.

The Swainson’s Hawk is a large, long-winged raptor with dark flight feathers and some white on the rump. It soars above and perches in trees, and on the ground in prairies and other open habitats. This species migrates from western North America all the way to grasslands in Argentina.

FAQ Of Hawks in Ohio

What is the most common hawk in Ohio?

The most common hawk in Ohio is the Red-tailed Hawk. In Ohio, this species is reported on the eBird platform more than any other hawk species.

Does Ohio have falcons or hawks?

Ohio has falcons and hawks. According to the official Ohio bird list, six species of falcons and ten species of hawks have been seen in the state.

What is the biggest hawk in Ohio?

The biggest hawk in Ohio is the Rough-legged Hawk. This species is 21 inches long. The Red-tailed Hawk is another large hawk species in Ohio. It is 19 inches long and weighs 2.4 pounds.

Are there Red Tail Hawks in Ohio?

Red Tail Hawks are common Ohio hawks. The Red-tailed Hawk is the most common hawk species in the state.

Are gray hawks in Ohio?

There are gray-colored hawks in Ohio, but the species called Gray Hawk does not live in the state. Adult Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks are both slate-gray on their backs, wings, head, and tail. The adult male Northern Harrier is also mostly gray.

More in Ohio: Most common birds | Owls | Woodpeckers | Ducks | Hummingbirds | State Bird