How Long Do Hawks Live? Lifespan of Red-Tailed Hawks

How long do red-tailed hawks live?

The red-tailed hawk is one of the longest-lived hawks in North America. Its life can be split into two very different stages.

In the first year or two, the risks are enormous. Most young red-tails die before they are two years old, mainly from starvation while they are still learning to hunt, and from accidents. Once a hawk has learned to find food reliably and has settled on a territory, its yearly chance of survival rises sharply. Adults can go on to live for 10 years or more.

The upper limit is higher still. Bird-banding records show wild red-tailed hawks living to nearly 30 years old, and captive red-tails have lived about 30 years. These are exceptional individuals, but they show what the species can achieve when it avoids accidents and disease.

Why do so many young hawks die?

A young hawk leaves the nest at about six weeks old and must teach itself to hunt within a few months, as its parents stop feeding it. Catching fast, alert rodents and birds takes practice, and many juveniles simply fail to catch enough food, especially during their first winter.

Young hawks also wander widely in search of an unoccupied area, which brings them into unfamiliar places, busy roads and the territories of other hawks that chase them away. Inexperienced birds are more likely to fly into wires or vehicles and to be caught by predators. Once a hawk passes this dangerous stage, its experience and its own territory greatly improve its chances.

The main threats to hawks

Hawks face a mix of natural and human-related dangers:

• Starvation, especially for juveniles and in harsh winters with deep snow.
• Vehicle collisions. Red-tails hunt rodents along highways and fly low across roads, making them common roadkill victims.
• Collisions with windows, wires, fences and wind turbines.
• Electrocution when large hawks perch on poorly designed power poles and touch two wires at once.
• Secondary poisoning from eating rats and mice that have eaten rodent poison.
• Illegal shooting and trapping, which still kill some hawks despite full legal protection.
• Predators, chiefly great horned owls, which kill hawks of all ages and take eggs and chicks. Crows, ravens and raccoons also raid nests.
• Disease, including West Nile virus and, more recently, avian influenza.

Longevity records from bird banding

How do we know how long hawks live? Since the early 20th century, researchers in North America and Europe have fitted birds with small numbered metal leg bands (rings). When a banded bird is later found, trapped or photographed, its age can be worked out from the banding date. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory keeps longevity records for North American species.

These records are maximums for wild birds, not typical lifespans, and they are updated as older birds are found. Approximate records include:

For comparison, eagles can live even longer: wild bald eagles have reached nearly 40 years. See how long do eagles live? for details.

Typical lifespans of other hawks

Average lifespans are much shorter than the records. Studies of Cooper’s hawks found an average age at death of only around 16 months, and red-shouldered hawks in the wild live about two years on average. Most sharp-shinned hawks, one of the smallest North American hawks, do not live beyond about three years.

These short averages do not mean hawks age quickly. They simply reflect the very high death rate among young birds. A hawk that reaches adulthood can expect to live several more years and to breed many times, which is how hawk populations stay stable despite heavy losses each year.

How long do hawks live in captivity?

In captivity, hawks are safe from starvation, predators, traffic and most diseases, so they usually live far longer than wild birds. Many hawks in nature centers are former wild birds that were injured and could not be released, and these “ambassador” birds can live for many years with expert care.

Long life is also one reason the red-tailed hawk is popular with licensed falconers in the United States: a well-cared-for bird can remain a hunting partner for many years. In the wild, though, a long life depends on skill and luck, and the oldest hawks are survivors of a very tough first year. To learn how they find enough to eat, see what do hawks eat?.