28 July 2021
Have you heard this pathetic sound recently?
If you track it down you’ll find a young red-tailed hawk, possibly on the ground, calling as if it is in distress. There may be two of them walking around, jumping down from a perch, looking at their feet, and making the most heart-rending sounds. Despite their tone these juvenile hawks are not hurt. They are crying wolf.
In late July young red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) in southwestern Pennsylvania have been out of the nest for four to eight weeks. Their parents have taught them everything they need to know about capturing and killing prey but they lack experience. To gain it their parents drop them off at a fertile hunting ground and leave for the day. Their parents will return with food, but not right away.
Left alone the youngsters play at catching prey (video below) and progress from hunting insects and invertebrates to capturing small mammals. It takes weeks to make this kind of progress and they won’t do it if their parents are nearby.
Like any kids, they get impatient when it goes slowly and whine as loudly as possible. Sometimes they perch prominently to do it. “Come back! I want food now!”
Don’t worry when you hear or see a “distressed” juvenile red-tailed hawk. It’s crying wolf.
(photos and video of two hawks by Jim Funderburgh, video of one hawk by Christopher Booth on YouTube)
In our neighborhood we have 2 juvie Coopers Hawks doing the same thing. They are fun to watch!
Thank goodness I found this information. I’ve been so concerned with 2 fledgling Red-Tailed Hawks in my backyard for 3 days, doing just that.
Thank you.
Thanks, I thought this was going on. They are relentless in there crying.
Thank you so much for posting this article!! I couldn’t for the love of God figure out what that annoying sound was coming from !! I’m used to adult hawks who have a different and much more pleasant sound. Your article finally let us know where and why we were hearing this all day!!!
Thank you for this info! I went looking in the woods behind my house to see what bird was in such distress. The cries were breaking my heart! I couldn’t find the bird (the sounds carried further than I could travel into the brush) but I remembered that I see a lot of hawks in that vicinity & jumped online to find more info. They sound exactly like the ones in the videos you posted. Grateful to learn something new from your website…thanks again!
Thank you for this info. I have been so worried about a juvenile red tail on our property. His cries are heart wrenching for a Mom. This red tail needs alot of practice catching his food.
We’ve had a family of 4 red tails at my office since 2nd week of June, and now I’m only seeing one or maybe two during the day. The juvenile has been crying relentlessly ALL.DAY.LONG. Seeing as we’ve had consistent triple-digit highs and zero rain for over a month, I was really worried about the babies! But alas, I may now rest peacefully knowing it’s just a child throwing a temper tantrum. Thanks for the info!
Great info. I’ve got these juveniles screeching all day long the past 2 or 3 weeks in Brecksville Ohio. However, when you say “they are crying wolf,” is that to get mom or dad to come back and get them? Thanks again.
I refreshed my memory: “Crying wolf” means calling for help when help is not needed and, if repeated too often, one is not believed when one really does need help. In the case of juvenile red-tailed hawks, their begging is “crying wolf” because they are capable of hunting for themselves. They would rather their parents do all the hard work.
Thank you for this info. A young red shouldered hawk was in our drive this morning. Still had a fuzzy head, but was not small. He sidled out of the way, half hiding, half hopping.
We have had a hawk for at least 4-6 weeks now I live in Truckee California. Beautiful bird – there may be another but don’t always see two of them. All day long and sometimes through the night it screeches and flies about. We live on the edge of a green belt with a lovely pond and lots of small rodents. I am sure it is well fed- just trying to find out if it was struggling? I now know it is probably a young one crying wolf all day and also learning to be on its own. I listened to different sounds of hawks and now believe it is a red tail hawk. Thanks for the information!
Thank you for this article and sound clip. It solves the mystery of why a red tail has been perched atop a power pole high above my house, sometimes crying for an hour or more. I thought at first it was injured. Will not worry now!
Great information! 3 days of crying juveniles flying low over our neighborhood, and whining! This afternoon 2 juveniles and a mature red tailed low overhead. One juvenile made a clumsy dive after prey. Bushes obscured whether he/she was successful. Happy if they nourish on the voles, mice, rabbits and chipmunks who are getting fat on my garden.
How long could this last. We’re coming up on 4 weeks of this in Western NY and a very harsh winter is just a few months away.
Heather, they will do this for a month or less. Then they’ll be on their own.