Red-tailed Hawk

Where to see

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Irazú Volcano National Park leads · 25 parks ranked by real sighting rates

Parks Ranked

Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Red-tailed Hawk during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)

#ParkCountrySighting
1 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~50%
2 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
3 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
4 Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park 🇯🇲 Jamaica
~40%
5 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
6 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
7 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
8 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
9 Los Haitises National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~30%
10 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
11 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
12 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
13 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
14 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
15 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
16 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
17 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
18 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
19 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
20 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
21 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
22 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
23 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
24 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
25 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%

Before you go

Which is the best park to see a Red-tailed Hawk?

Irazú Volcano National Park

In Irazú Volcano National Park, Costa Rica, about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Hawk sighting on a given day, the highest of the 25 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see a Red-tailed Hawk?

It depends on the park

In the top parks, the best months are December and January in Irazú Volcano National Park (about 70%), September in Yellowstone National Park (about 50%) and January in Saguaro National Park (about 50%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Red-tailed Hawk on a given day. Each park's Red-tailed Hawk page has the full month-by-month chart.