Sylvan was hatched in 2023. When she was still learning to fly well she suffered a collision that left her partially flighted. Her favorite foods are mice, insects, frogs, and toads. She is very friendly and a bit of a busy-body, spending much of her daylight hours watching the wildlife around her cage and conversing with her neighbors Myrtle the Raven on one side and Linnaeus the Red Shouldered hawk on the other. She has a wingspan between 2 ½ to a little over 3 feet in length and weighs around 16 ounces which is typical for a female; males are usually between 12-14 ounces. Sylvan joined the TRAC Ambassadors in December 2023; this photo was taken on her first night at TRAC.
Broad Winged Hawks are the smallest of the buteo family and can be commonly found from southern Canada into Texas and Florida during the late Spring through early Fall. In the Fall, they migrate in huge numbers south to Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. While they are in the northern parts of their range, broad-wings like to live in dense deciduous or mixed forests, usually near a water source such as a stream or pond. They usually raise an average of 2–3 chicks per year, and the mated pair stays together through the season. Broad Winged Hawks can be found from April through September in West Virginia before they move back South. Broad Winged Hawks can live to be 12 to 14 years old in the wild.
