Buteos

Abstract

Red-tailed, red-shouldered, and broad-winged hawks nest throughout the 11 northeastern states, and red-tailed, red-shouldered, and rough-legged hawks winter in this region. Historical and present ranges of these species are similar, although red-shouldered and broad-winged hawk ranges now have more vacant patches at a local and regional level. Only the red-shouldered hawk is of special concern or officially listed as threatened by some state agencies. Analysis of Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data indicated positive trends in counts of red-tailed hawks along the more developed Northeast corridor. No trends were found in analyses of BBS data for red-shouldered hawks in either more- or less-developed regions of the Northeast. Based on the BBS, we found a decreasing trend in counts of broad-winged hawks along the more-developed Northeast corridor, and an increasing trend in less-developed regions of the Northeast. Our analyses of Christmas Bird Count data indicated no trend in counts of red-shouldered nor rough-legged hawks, but an increase in counts of red-tailed hawks from 1962 to 1983. Many individuals believe that species such as the red-shouldered hawk are declining in the Northeast, but no trends were detected in our analyses.