If you see a goshawk, the Pennsylvania Goshawk Project wants to know. Of course, finding one of the large, woodland predators is no small accomplishment.
With declining populations and a contracted range, northern goshawks have become rarer sights in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan of species in need of conservation efforts within the state identifies the goshawk as a species of greatest conservation need with a low or declining population in the state. The plan notes the need for the gathering of information on the abundance and distribution of breeding goshawks in Pennsylvania.
“Population trends are difficult to determine due to the paucity of historic quantitative data and because of biases inherent in the various survey methods used to track bird populations,” notes the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program.
Since 2017, the Pennsylvania Goshawk Project, run by a subcommittee of the Ornithological Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, has collected reports of goshawk sightings in the state.
But additional information is needed, and the Project continues to seek information related to sightings. Any goshawk observations should be sent to pgcgoshawk@pa.gov. Reports are confidential to protect the birds.
Your assistance with finding goshawk territories and nests helps with our research and conservation efforts to protect this species and its habitat.
For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Goshawk Project webpage. You can find images and audio files to aid identification as well as forms, instructions and contact information.
According to the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, goshawks are “found in remote, higher-elevation forests across northern Pennsylvania and in mountainous areas southward, primarily in mature mixed and conifer forests with open understory.”
The PBS describes the goshawk as “large (bigger than a crow), heavy-bodied, overall slate grayish above and pale grayish below, distinct whitish eyebrow set off by dark cheek and cap, long, broad, barred tail, fluffy white undertail feathers.”
The birds “rarely soar” and are “usually seen below tree canopy. Flight is fast and agile, making identification difficult. Typically call excitedly near nest area: ‘kak kak kak…’”