Raptors

11 species

All groups

American Kestrel

American Kestrel
Falco sparverius

MediumUncommon

North America's smallest falcon — barely bigger than a jay, and the most colorful
raptor on the continent.

Year-round Wires and poles over open ground; field edges Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus

LargeRegular

The adult is unmistakable and the juvenile fools almost everybody. Most "golden
eagles" reported in Portland are young Bald Eagles.

Year-round Cottonwood snags along the Willamette; soaring over the refuge Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Barred Owl

Barred Owl
Strix varia

LargeUncommon but increasing

A large, round-headed owl with dark eyes, and one that will sit in the open and let
you look at it.

Year-round Mature trees with dense cover; often roosting low and in plain sight Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii

LargeCommon

The hawk at your bird feeder. It is not there for the seed.

Year-round Wooded edges, backyards, anywhere songbirds gather Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus

LargePresent year-round, heard far more often than seen

The owl everybody can already imitate without knowing they can. Large, heavy, and
almost always above you rather than in front of you.

Year-round — calling from late autumn, nesting in midwinter Big cottonwoods and conifers along the water; hunts over open ground Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Osprey

Osprey
Pandion haliaetus

LargeCommon in season

The only raptor here that plunges feet-first and comes up with a fish held like a
torpedo, nose forward.

Spring through early fall Over open water; nests on pilings and platforms Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus

LargeUncommon

The fastest animal on earth, and it nests on Portland's bridges. Most people walk
underneath one without ever looking up.

Year-round Bridges and tall structures over the Willamette; open sky above the refuge Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus

LargeUncommon but increasing in Oregon

A woodland buteo that has been expanding into western Oregon, and one more people
are finding each year.

⭐ **Jonathan's record is from inside the forest at Oaks Bottom** — which is the
identification as much as the plumage is. A large hawk perched *within* the
canopy, rather than soaring over open ground, is already telling you it is not a
Red-tail.

Year-round Inside the forest canopy — wetter, more wooded ground than a Red-tail uses Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis

LargeCommon

The default large hawk of Oregon. If it's soaring over a field in broad circles,
start here.

Year-round Soaring over open ground; perched on poles and snags Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

LargeCommon

Identifiable at a mile by how it flies, before any plumage detail is visible at all.

Spring through fall; mostly gone in winter Soaring over open ground and the river Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Western Screech-Owl

Western Screech-Owl
Megascops kennicottii

MediumUncommon

A tiny owl the size of a pint glass, the color of bark, that spends the day pressed
into a tree cavity doing an impression of the tree.

Year-round Cavities in older deciduous trees; wooded edges Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide