Overview
The American Goshawk is the largest and scarcest of the North American accipitrines, making it sought after by birders. They nest in coniferous forests across northern North America. Although they are typically not seen south of Pennsylvania during summer, they nest throughout the mountainous areas of the western states and into Mexico. Even though widespread, they are never dense. The Goshawk is notoriously aggressive toward intruders near their nest and defends them relentlessly and loudly! Biologists conducting nest research are wary, wear protective gear, or face bloody consequences.
Unlike the other accipitrines, the Goshawk eats mammals (including squirrels and hares) equally as much as birds (i.e. flickers, jays, Grouse, Ptarmigan). They are seldom encountered except at a few hawk migration sites. The Goshawk moves south into the Lower 48 and US-Canada border region in numbers roughly every ten years in response to prey population cycles. They can be seen in semi-open areas in winter but are still secretive. They are vocal, emitting a loud, screaming “Kak-Kak-Kak…”, slower, louder, and deeper than Cooper’s Hawk. Females approach the size and bulk of the Red-tailed Hawk, but males are not much larger than female Cooper’s Hawk.
