Hawks are afraid of eagles, owls and crows. Eagles prey on hawks as food, they are the number one predator of hawks. Crows and owls pick on and attack hawks for sport. Raccoons and snakes snatch eggs out of hawk nests if they get the chance.

Why Are They Endangered? The greatest factor endangering hawks is the loss of habitat. Hawks that prefer wetland habitats are also affected by the drying of wetlands due to damming. As hawks are very reclusive in their nesting practices, disturbance of nesting sites is another frequent culprit of population decline.

Comeback king: Red-tailed hawks are no longer on the endangered species list.

Firstly, it’s important to know that hawks have been protected in the United States under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act since 1918. This means that it is illegal to hunt, trap, cage, shoot, poison, or kill them. Doing so can result in imprisonment and heavy fines.

Hawks attack from behind, using the element of surprise when approaching their prey or defending their nest site. Raptor expert Debby Farley, of the nearby Spring Brook Nature Center, says that hawks are not generally hostile toward humans, but with “typical parental instinct, she’s opted to get more aggressive.”

The only accurate way to age adult Red-tailed Hawks to a specific year is to determine if there is one generation or two generations of flight feathers (tail and wings). Body feathers may be helpful but it is often difficult to determine if old (from the previous molt) body feathers are juvenile or adult feathers.

Size. The most striking difference between male and female red-tailed hawks is that the female is one third larger than the male. According to the website All About Birds, female hawks are large enough that they often are mistaken for eagles, while males do not give off this impression.