Food Preferences & Winter Destinations of Some Raptors
at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

When Hawk Migrates Through Chincoteague	Destination	Food Eating at Chincoteague During Migration
Merlin Hawk
Late Sept-early Oct	Carribean Central America	Small to medium birds (doves, woodpeckers, robins, starlings)
American Kestrel
Mid Sept-mid Oct	Eastern U.S. Caribbean	Insects and small mammals (field mice and grasshoppers)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Mid-Sept-early Oct	Caribbean and Mexico	Small birds (swallows, starlings, blackbirds, robins)
Northern Harrier
Late Sept-early Oct	Southeastern U.S. & Carribean	Small mammals (mice, rats) and small snakes
Coopers Hawk
Late-Sept-mid-Oct	South through Mexico to Guatemala & Honduras (See Note below.)	Medium birds (flickers, doves) and small mammals
Peregrine Falcon
Late Sept-mid to late Oct	Central & So. America, Caribbean & So. U.S.	Small to medium birds (ducks, shorebirds, flickers, etc)
Osprey
Late Sept-early Oct	South America	Fish (Blue fish, Menhaden, Perch, etc.)
Bald Eagle
Late Sept-early Oct	Southeastern US (Atlantic eagles)	Fish, waterfowl, (snowgeese), carrion

• Food preference information courtesy of Irvin Ailes, biologist, Chincoteague NWR.
• Winter destinations based on banding records of raptors from Virginia and New Jersey, courtesy of Mary Gustaffson, Bird Banding Lab
• There are no banding recoveries from Cooper's Hawks. These destinations are based on visual observations on the wintering grounds.