Northern Goshawk

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Northern Goshawk in the UK

The Goshawk is a scarce resident. It was wiped out in Britain by the late 19th century through forest clearance and persecution. Today's birds descend from hawks that escaped or were released by falconers from the 1960s and 1970s on. The UK estimate is about 620 pairs, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel has reported record totals in recent years, with a 24% jump in reported pairs in 2022. Wales, southern Scotland and the big English forests hold most. It is Green-listed and has full Schedule 1 protection, but illegal killing still limits it near grouse moors and Pheasant shoots.

Where and when to see a Northern Goshawk

Large blocks of mature forest, conifer or mixed, in Wales, the Scottish Borders, Northumberland, the New Forest, Thetford Forest and the Forest of Dean. Go on a calm, bright morning from February to April, when pairs display high above the trees. New Fancy View in the Forest of Dean, a Forestry England viewpoint, is the best known public watchpoint: pick a still day in March or April and bring a telescope. Outside the display season you are relying on luck. Never look for nests. Disturbing them is a criminal offence.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Mature forest.
Diet: Pigeons, corvids, squirrels.
Field note: Powerful; bigger than Sparrowhawk.

How to identify a Northern Goshawk

Females are Buzzard-sized. Males are much smaller, nearer a crow, which is where confusion with a big female Sparrowhawk starts. Look at shape: a Goshawk has a deep chest, broad hips, a longer protruding head and a thicker, round-tipped tail. The wings look long and bulge at the rear edge, pinching in to a narrower tip. Wingbeats are slower and heavier. Adults are grey above and finely barred below with a bold white eyebrow and fluffy white undertail feathers, spread wide in display. Juveniles are brown above and buff below with dark vertical streaks, not bars.

Call and song

Silent for most of the year. Near the nest in early spring it gives a loud, chattering "kek-kek-kek-kek", slower and deeper than a Sparrowhawk, and a wailing "pee-yah" from the female. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Sparrowhawk: Sparrowhawk is slimmer with a thin-based, square-cornered tail, a small head and quick, flickering wingbeats; if you are unsure, it is nearly always a Sparrowhawk.
• Common Buzzard: Buzzard has a much shorter tail and broader, more even wings, and soars in a shallow V with lazy circles.
• Hen Harrier: A displaying Goshawk flaps slowly like a harrier, but a ringtail Hen Harrier has a white rump band and hunts low over open ground.

Related guide UK raptors and owls.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Northern Goshawk is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Levant SparrowhawkLegendary · Open woodland (very rare)
• SparrowhawkCommon · Woodland
• Booted EagleEpic · Mature forest with clearings
• CapercaillieRare · Scottish pine forest
• Continental Coal TitRare · Pine forest
• Eurasian Golden OrioleRare · Mature broadleaf woodland

Northern Goshawk: quick answers

Where can I see a Goshawk in the UK?

Your best chance is a public raptor viewpoint over a large forest in late winter. New Fancy View in the Forest of Dean is the classic site. Kielder, the New Forest and Thetford Forest all hold birds, and patient scanning from high ground on a clear March morning can pay off.

What is the difference between a Goshawk and a Sparrowhawk?

Lone birds are hard to size, so go on structure. A Goshawk looks heavy and deep-chested with a long neck and rounded tail tip. A Sparrowhawk looks light, with a small head and a narrow tail. A hawk in a garden is a Sparrowhawk.

What does a Goshawk eat?

Medium-sized birds and mammals: Woodpigeons, crows, Jays, Grey Squirrels and Rabbits. It hunts by ambush, flying fast and low through the trees. It also kills other raptors and owls, and Kestrels have declined locally where Goshawks have moved in.

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