Ok, don't laugh. I have a question I feel silly asking, but I gotta do it anyway. For the last week I have seen a hawk on my way to work in the morning. It is always in the same general area, sitting on a fence post. Probably not always the very same fence post, but within a stretch of 3 or 4. I keep wondering why it is staying right there in the same place- and is that what they do? I guess I always thought they flew around and lived wherever there was a food source. It has occurred to me that maybe it's a momma and is hanging close to the nest....? This leads me to another silly question- If I don't see any hawks regularly at my place, does this mean there are none that 'live' near me? Forgive me my silly questions, it's just that I rarely see hawks at all and never gave them any thought until I got my chicks. Reminds me of a time a few years back when my daughter was about 7-ish- she came running in the house all breathless and excited. She tells me, "Mommy, you HAVE to come outside!! There's 3 HUGE BALD EAGLES flying in a circle over the horse pen!!!" She now knows that those "Bald Eagles" are the not-so-glamorous Buzzard.
Its looking for its next meal...Rabbit, feild mice..ect. I have them all around my area and they like to hunt "roadside" that way if something crosses the road......no pun intended folks...lol.
It's hunting the area. Right now it probably has a nest, so expect to see it often for a while. Depending on species they can have a teritory that they stay around.
If I don't see any hawks regularly at my place, does this mean there are none that 'live' near me? Sort of. That means they are either subtle, or none are nesting near you. Also, the nesting/breeding period isn't that long so very quickly the hawks will no longer respect each other's territories. Also, even during the breeding season, some (unlucky) hawks won't breed and just fly around eating stuff instead. So those are always a threat, potentially. -MTchick
most hawks, during the summer and winter have a territory, and can, fairly easily, be found within that area. Well for the buteos anyway; the Accipitors (bird eaters) are a little harder to spot. They tend to set inside the canopies of trees. They make an effort to hide. And they don't feed by soaring high in the open. If you don't see hawks in your area, you are either not observant enough or don't have any. You may be lucky enough to not have one eyeing your chickens but come migration time there are few spots that hawks won't be at least passing by.