Hawks In Palliser-Bayview-Pumphill

August 31, 2025

by Bob Buteo

The hawks we see in Calgary include the Red Tailed, Swainson’s, and Sharp Shinned hawks shown in the photos provided with this article. They feed mostly on small rodents and birds but are also known to eat other small animals. The photo of the Sharp Shinned hawk shows a smaller bird defending its nest. Calgary is also home to Ferruginous hawks, Northern Harriers, Osprey, and the smaller American Kestrels. We hear their hoarse, high-pitched calls sharp and see them with the prey that they have caught.

It is rare for hawks to bother humans. However, in September 2010, postal workers in our area were using helmets and tennis rackets to protect themselves from a Swainson’s hawk that was being aggressive in defending its nest. Apparently, the activity of the postal workers, going to each house, as they made their way around the neighbourhood, was seen by the hawk to be like the behaviour of a predator.

The hawk would always attack the highest point– the helmet or the tennis racket that was being held above the head. Eventually, door-to-door mail service was suspended until the fledglings left the nest and flew south to winter in Argentina.

Hawks can live up to 15 years or more in the wild. They are monogamous and pairs usually stay together usually for life. They mate in the summer and can have two to five eggs in a nest. Incubation is 32 to 36 days. Fledglings learn to fly at about two months and hawks mature at three years of age.