Guide

Go seeBirds

Red-tailed hawks on roadside poles and trees

November to March

Red-tailed hawks, big bulky hawks, most with a white chest and a dark band of streaks across the belly, often sit on roadside poles and trees beside grassy roadsides and fields. They watch the ground from up there for small prey like mice and voles.

Why this time of year

Some red-tails that nest here stay all year, and in some winters, especially ones with little snow, more of them gather along fields and highway roadsides.

How to notice it

  1. Passengers only: scan telephone poles and the tops of roadside trees along grassy road edges, fields and highway interchanges. The driver keeps their eyes on the road.
  2. When you spot one, look for the shape: a big, heavy-bodied hawk, most with a white chest and a dark band of streaks across the belly.
  3. If it turns or flies, look at the tail. On most adults the tail is reddish on top and paler underneath. A young bird's tail is brown above with dark bars.
  4. Watch whether it drops from the perch. Red-tails hunt mostly by watching from a high perch, then swooping down.

Try this with kids: Can you find a hawk sitting up high and count how many poles or trees you pass before you spot the next one?

Safety

  • Only passengers should look for hawks. Drivers must keep their eyes on the road.
  • Do not stop on a highway shoulder to watch a hawk. Watch from a safe pull-off or a parking area.

Sources

  • audubon.orgAudubon Field Guide: commonly seen perching on roadside poles; hunts mostly by watching from a high perch then swooping down; most have a white chest and dark belly-band of streaks; adult tail reddish above, whitish below; juvenile tail brown with dark bars; northern birds may migrate south. Bulky and broad-winged; on most adults the tail is reddish above.
  • bostonglobe.comBoston Globe 2020-03-27 quoting Mass Audubon's Wayne Petersen: red-tails frequent roadsides, feed on voles, mice, rabbits; telephone poles as lookouts; Massachusetts has more red-tails in winter as residents are joined by migrants from eastern Canada.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas: open areas with scattered trees and small woodlots; hunts from flight or a perch; some pairs year-round residents. Found mainly adjacent to fields and roadsides, such as along interstate highways, especially at interchanges; in certain winters, especially with little snow cover, rather high concentrations appear; fall migration runs September into December, spring migration March into May.

Checked against these sources on October 9, 2026.

In the guide for November, December, January, February, March

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