In the fall of 2018, this broad-winged hawk was hit by a car in southern Vermont.  He suffered a broken wing and was brought to a wildlife rehabber.  Broad-winged hawks are impressive migrators, spending the winter in the warm forests of Mexico, Central, and South America.  Unfortunately, a winter in Vermont is not something that they are adapted to.  While waiting for his wing to heal and spring to arrive, this bird suffered frostbite and lost some of his toes and damaged the feather follicles on his wingtip.   He came to the Museum in August of 2019 and has proven himself to be a fantastic ambassador for his species.

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Broad-winged hawks are unusual for northeastern hawks in their epic migrations.  Most of our hawks migrate as far as they must, sometimes overwintering in New England or even moving to east or west, to areas where food will be abundant all winter.  Coopers hawks hunting your birdfeeder or bald eagles at the open water of a hydroelectric dam are two good examples.