Species Highlight: Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus)

The Watershed Restoration Crew works throughout the borderlands, and recently we had a streak of gray hawk sightings — we collectively saw at least one gray hawk a day,  for six days in a row. One was surprisingly spotted in the Huachuca mountains. The others were seen sitting in cottonwoods or soaring above Borderlands Wildlife Preserve, and a pair was spotted spiraling above the oaks in Little Casa Blanca Canyon. The gray hawk is considered a Patagonia local during the spring and summer months, but outside the borderlands bubble, the only other place to reliably see them in the United States is southern Texas. The majority of their population lives throughout the tropics of Mexico and Central America. They are a beautiful and unique: overall gray color with white bars on their underpants, a black and white banded tail, and have bright yellow legs.

The gray hawk is a frequent visitor on our wildlife cameras this time of year. In the States, the species breed in tall trees along or near permanent streams, which is why they can often be seen in cottonwoods. They prefer areas that are surrounded with dense brush, like oak woodlands or mesquite. They are compact, agile raptors and mostly hunt prey in the trees, especially lizards like the spiny and whiptail lizards in southern Arizona. They also prey on small birds, like this dove:

While this species is listed as least concern by the Global IUCN 2024 Red List, climate change will affect their populations. Increases in springtime temperatures are threatening to baby birds and prolonged droughts limit or completely destroy water and food sources. But gray hawk populations seem to be increasing in southeastern Arizona and southern Texas, which may be a reflection of the restoration efforts taking place throughout the region to help protect the few remaining riparian corridors.