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Gray Hawk sighting

I live in Miami and just saw this hawk on my street - it had just killed a dove. I looked it up and these hawks are supposed to be in So. FL. I have never seen a hawk like this before. Normally I see red shouldered Hawks in the area. It was so exciting to see this amazing bird but I don't know why it would be in So. Florida.

http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/gray-hawk

Comments

Brian Rapoza
over 7 years ago

Liz, it's much more likely that the hawk you saw was a Cooper's Hawk. Gray Hawk has never been recorded in Florida. If you are able to photograph the hawk you saw, please post the photo.

Liz
over 7 years ago

Hi Brian! Looked up Cooper's Hawk and the bird I saw looked more gray and the head seemed different. Maybe it was a falcon? Are they the same size as a hawk? It was raining and I was driving so unfortunately I could not take a photo. We have a pericone falcon in our neighborhood but it's much smaller than the bird I saw.

Brian Rapoza
over 7 years ago

Falcons are not present in south Florida at this time of year, so your bird was almost certainly a hawk. I still think it was most likely a Cooper's Hawk, but without a photo . . .

Daniel
about 5 years ago

I saw a grey hawk when I was riding in a golf cart early in the morning in Doral, Florida .. it had swoopped down to pick up a baby bird...it was so close to me I could see it's eyes turn to look at me as I rode parrallel to it.

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