Buteo platypterus – The Broad-Winged Hawk.
It is a real privilege to have any of our birds to show, but it’s especially exciting to have Journey join the crew. Red-tailed and Red-shoulder hawks tend to get spotted on a regular basis, but Broad-winged hawks prefer to live in large expanses of forest so they aren’t as commonly seen as our other hawk species in Georgia. That is until they begin to migrate. As I write this, the Georgia population has made its way to South America for the winter. Broad-Wings form huge flocks that can number in the thousands as they migrate. These “kettles” of hawks spiral in columns that might remind you of bubbles rising in a boiling pot.
We had Broad-Winged Hawks around the house all summer. I guess our forest is big enough thanks to our nature loving neighbors. We have heard their whistling calls before, but this time it seemed more than normal. So, we weren’t shocked when we got a call from Chattahoochee Nature Center that they had a non-releasable Broad-Wing in need of a home. We got to work expanding the Mews and adding heat panels, getting permits and inspections. Journey missed his trip south, but he is staying warm, snuggled up to his heater.
He is a brave little hawk (less than a foot tall). After some more practice on the glove and some small groups, he will be ready for prime time.
