Minnesota sits at a crossroads for North American raptors, and few places make that clearer than Hawk Ridge in Duluth, where observers have tallied thousands of migrating birds passing overhead in a single autumn day. Ten hawk species call the state home at some point during the year, ranging from year-round residents that hunt suburban backyards to Arctic visitors that only show up once the snow flies.
Telling one hawk from another takes practice, since size, tail pattern, and flight style all shift depending on age, lighting, and distance. This guide breaks down each of Minnesota’s ten hawk species by body shape, habitat, and the field marks that actually hold up in the field, whether the bird is soaring over a prairie or perched on a power line along the interstate.
Minnesota’s raptors fall into three broad groups: chunky, broad-winged buteos built for soaring; slender, long-tailed accipiters built for speed through trees; and the harrier, a low-flying marsh specialist unlike anything else in the sky. Keeping that framework in mind makes the identification process far less overwhelming.
1. Red-tailed Hawk
The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is the hawk most Minnesotans see without realizing it, since it dominates fence posts, light poles, and highway medians statewide. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Length: 19 to 26 inches. Weight: 2 to 4 pounds. Color: Usually brown with black and white streaks. Reddish tail.
Cornell Lab’s All About Birds notes that this is the default hawk to expect on any drive through open country, since “chances are good that the first hawk you see will be a Red-tailed Hawk” once you learn the broad-winged, short-tailed buteo shape. The DNR adds that red-tailed hawks are found throughout Minnesota, and in the fall they begin to migrate to southern states, though many linger through winter wherever rodent populations stay high.
Unlike some of the state’s other buteos, red-tails rarely travel in flocks. Fall counts at Hawk Ridge have recorded as many as 15,000 red-tailed hawks passing through in a single season, but unlike Swainson’s hawks and broad-winged hawks, red-tailed hawks do not usually migrate in groups, instead passing by one-by-one, and only migrate on days when winds are favorable. For readers curious how this species compares across its range, the hawks found throughout North America share several buteo traits worth reviewing.
2. Broad-winged Hawk
The broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) is a crow-sized forest buteo that spends summer hidden in Minnesota’s woodlands, then stages one of the continent’s most dramatic migration spectacles each fall. The DNR describes it plainly: broad-winged hawks are very common in Minnesota, and this is one of the few American hawks that migrates in groups, with thousands migrating together in kettles.
Those kettles are best viewed at Hawk Ridge, where birders have seen 8,000 to 10,000 broad-winged hawks migrating over Hawk Ridge in Duluth in a single day. Cornell’s research on tracked individuals found that the hawks migrated an average of 4,350 miles to northern South America, traveling 69 miles each day, then settled into a remarkably small home range for winter.
Pro Tip: Look for a dark brown back paired with a broad tail marked by two white bands and two black bands — the DNR calls this the single best field mark for separating broad-wings from other Minnesota buteos.
Identification comes down to size and tail pattern: the DNR notes it is about the size of a crow, with a dark back and light underside, and when flying overhead, look for its broad, thickly striped tail. Anyone tracking migration timing should know the season runs long, since the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory reports that migration begins in mid-August with kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks, and broad-winged hawks, and continues into December, with peak migration from mid-September to late October. Birders comparing notes with neighboring states can check the hawks recorded across Wisconsin, since many of the same kettles pass along that shared Lake Superior flyway.
3. Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is the mid-sized accipiter that homeowners most often spot crashing through backyard shrubs after songbirds. Slightly smaller than a crow, it has short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail built for tight turns between tree trunks rather than open-sky soaring.
Females run noticeably larger than males, a pattern typical across accipiters, and adults show a slate-gray back with a rust-barred chest and a dark cap that contrasts against a paler nape. Cooper’s hawks nest in mixed woodlands throughout Minnesota and have adapted well to residential neighborhoods with mature trees and active bird feeders.
- Rounded tail tip with a wide white terminal band
- Slow, deliberate wingbeats mixed with short glides
- Frequently seen ambushing prey near backyard feeders
- Larger, more robust head than the similar Sharp-shinned hawk
Because Cooper’s hawks specialize in catching other birds, they show up wherever songbird populations concentrate. Readers who feed finches and other backyard species in Minnesota may already have unknowingly hosted a hunting Cooper’s hawk nearby.
4. Sharp-shinned Hawk
The sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) is Minnesota’s smallest accipiter and one of the trickiest hawks to separate from its larger Cooper’s hawk relative. Barely larger than a jay, it shares the same slate-gray back and rust-barred underside but carries proportionally longer, thinner legs and a squared-off rather than rounded tail tip.
Sharp-shinned hawks breed in dense conifer stands across northern Minnesota and pass through the rest of the state in large numbers during migration. Hawk Ridge observers count them among the earliest fall migrants, arriving alongside kestrels and broad-winged hawks in mid-August before numbers build through September.
In flight, sharp-shins show a small head that barely projects past the leading edge of the wing, while Cooper’s hawks show a larger head with a more prominent projection. This single detail, more than overall size, is what most experienced birders rely on when the two species appear side by side at a distance.
5. Northern Harrier
The Northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) is Minnesota’s only harrier species and looks unlike any other hawk in the state. Long-winged and long-tailed, it patrols open grasslands and wetlands low to the ground, tilting side to side on a dihedral wing posture that resembles a turkey vulture more than a typical buteo.
A bright white rump patch is visible at any distance and remains the fastest way to confirm a harrier in flight. Males are pale gray above, earning the nickname “gray ghost,” while females and juveniles show warm brown plumage that can cause confusion with immature buteos until the white rump comes into view.
Harriers hunt largely by sound, using an owl-like facial disc to funnel noise toward their ears while flying just a few feet above marsh grass and prairie. This hunting style makes them a common sight over restored grasslands and wildlife management areas throughout western and southern Minnesota, particularly in habitat similar to what supports several at-risk species tracked across the state.
6. Northern Goshawk
The Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is the largest and most formidable accipiter in Minnesota, built like an oversized Cooper’s hawk with a chest-thick build and piercing red eyes as an adult. It favors mature, unbroken forest in the northern third of the state, where dense conifer and aspen stands provide both cover for ambush hunting and nest sites well hidden from view.
Goshawks are famous among birders and foresters alike for their nest defense, diving aggressively at anyone who ventures too close to a nest tree. Because they depend on large tracts of mature forest, goshawk numbers in Minnesota track closely with forest management practices, and the species is considered uncommon enough that sightings outside the northern forest belt are noteworthy.
Important Note: Goshawk populations are difficult to survey precisely because the birds are secretive and forest interior specialists, so reported numbers vary between studies. Anyone researching current conservation status should consult the Minnesota DNR’s official species accounts for the most current classification.
Compared with the state’s more visible forest raptors, goshawks share territory with several owl species found in Minnesota’s northern forests, since both groups rely on similar mature-woodland habitat structure.
7. Red-shouldered Hawk
The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a forest-loving buteo restricted mostly to southeastern Minnesota’s river bottomlands and mature deciduous woods along the Mississippi River corridor. Adults show a warm reddish wash across the shoulders and upper breast, along with a tail marked by narrow black and white bands that look almost checkered in good light.
This species prefers wooded wetlands and floodplain forest far more than the open country favored by red-tailed hawks, and its loud, repeated “kee-yer” call often gives away its location before the bird is ever seen. Red-shouldered hawks are considerably less common statewide than red-tails, making southeastern river valleys the most reliable place to find one.
Nesting pairs typically return to the same territory year after year, building large stick nests high in mature trees near water. Because the species depends on intact floodplain forest, habitat loss along river corridors remains the primary limiting factor on its Minnesota range.
8. Swainson’s Hawk
Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a rare but regular visitor to Minnesota’s western prairie counties, more at home on the Great Plains than in the state’s forested regions. This slim, long-winged buteo shows a distinctive dark chest bib contrasting against a pale belly, along with pointed wingtips that give it a more falcon-like silhouette than other Minnesota buteos in flight.
Swainson’s hawks are among the longest-distance migrants of any North American raptor, wintering on the pampas of Argentina before returning north each spring. Because their core range sits farther west, birders hoping to find one in Minnesota typically focus on open grassland and agricultural areas in the state’s far western counties, similar to habitat found across the plains hawks of Kansas and the prairie raptors of Oklahoma.
Unlike red-tailed and broad-winged hawks, which hunt primarily small mammals, Swainson’s hawks shift their diet heavily toward large insects such as grasshoppers outside the breeding season, often gathering in loose flocks over freshly plowed or burned fields where insects become easy to catch.
9. Rough-legged Hawk
The rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus) is a winter-only visitor that breeds far north on the Arctic tundra and moves into Minnesota once snow blankets its breeding grounds. Feathered legs extending all the way to the toes, an adaptation for Arctic cold, give the species its name and distinguish it from every other Minnesota buteo.
Rough-legged hawks favor open farmland, prairie remnants, and marsh edges, where they hunt small rodents using a hovering flight technique rarely seen in the state’s summer buteos. This kestrel-like hover, sustained with rapid wingbeats into the wind, is often the quickest way to identify one at a distance before any plumage details become visible.
| Species | Body Type | Minnesota Status | Best Field Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red-tailed Hawk | Buteo | Year-round resident | Reddish tail on adults |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Buteo | Summer breeder, mass migrant | Banded black-and-white tail |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Accipiter | Year-round resident | Rounded tail, thick head |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Accipiter | Breeds north, migrates statewide | Squared tail, tiny head |
| Northern Harrier | Harrier | Summer breeder | White rump patch |
| Northern Goshawk | Accipiter | Uncommon, northern forests | Large size, red eyes |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Buteo | Uncommon, southeast only | Checkered tail bands |
| Swainson’s Hawk | Buteo | Rare, western prairies | Dark chest bib |
| Rough-legged Hawk | Buteo | Winter visitor only | Hovering flight |
| Osprey | Pandionid | Summer breeder near water | White underside, fish diet |
Because they arrive only once other buteos have largely departed, rough-legged hawks are the winter raptor most likely to occupy a fence post that hosted a red-tail all summer. Birders farther west can compare notes with the wintering rough-legged hawks recorded in Colorado, since both regions share this same Arctic-breeding visitor.
10. Osprey
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) technically belongs to its own family rather than the true hawk family Accipitridae, but it is universally grouped with Minnesota’s hawks in field guides and everyday birdwatching. This large, white-bellied raptor nests almost exclusively near lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, where it plunges feet-first into the water to catch fish.
Ospreys carry a distinctive black eye stripe against an otherwise white head, along with long, angled wings that create a noticeable crook in flight, sometimes described as an “M” shape when viewed from below. A reversible outer toe and barbed foot pads let the bird grip slippery fish securely during flight back to the nest.
Minnesota’s abundance of lakes makes it excellent osprey habitat, and the species has rebounded strongly across the state after being hit hard by pesticide contamination in the mid-20th century. Large stick nests built atop utility poles, channel markers, and purpose-built platforms are now a familiar summer sight around many lakeshore habitats shared with herons and other wetland birds. Ospreys migrate south each fall, with many wintering as far as Central and South America before returning to the same nest platform the following spring, a pattern also documented among migrating raptors passing through Texas on their way south.
Minnesota’s ten hawk species cover an unusual range of hunting styles and habitats, from the marsh-hugging Northern harrier to the fish-diving osprey and the Arctic-breeding rough-legged hawk that only shows up once winter sets in. Learning the three broad body types — buteo, accipiter, and harrier — makes sorting through field marks far more manageable than memorizing ten species from scratch. With Hawk Ridge offering front-row seats to one of the continent’s great migration spectacles each fall, Minnesota remains one of the better states in the country to watch this identification skill develop firsthand.