NJIT HawkCam

Red-tailed hawks are the most common species of raptor in the Eastern US. They eat small mammals such as voles, rabbits and squirrels. Our hawks will be foraging in an area much bigger than our campus, likely visiting nearby green spaces such as Branch Brook Park.

Red-tails will normally nest in a tall tree, but recently have taken to using building ledges. One of the first to do this was Pale Male, a hawk who, in 1991, first built a nest in New York City overlooking Central Park, and lived in the area for many years, helping to raise numerous chicks with a series of mates. Fans of Pale Male have suggested that his offspring have carried on the then-rare habit of nesting on buildings, with the result that New York has had at least ten nesting pairs every year since. The UEL's position on this is cautious: we haven't seen convincing evidence yet. But it is not impossible that either of both of our hawks might be descended from Pale Male.

Urban living carries risks for red-tails, mainly collisions and poisoning (when they eat a rodent that itself has been poisoned). So please send your thoughts their way.

Interesting fact: TV and movie sound engineers use the high-pitched screech of a red-tailed hawk for almost any raptor, up to and including the bald eagle. The other birds do not sound like that, but most people think they do!