The Broad-winged Hawk is a common but secretive bird of Canada's southern deciduous and mixed forests from Alberta east to the Maritime provinces. The Breeding Bird Survey suggests that the Canadian population has increased steadily since about 1970. This species was persecuted in the past, a practice that has declined but still continues in some areas (Goodrich et al. 2014). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The affinity of this species to large patches of forest cover (Szuba 2007) raises concerns for forest fragmentation on the breeding grounds, as well as for the wintering grounds in Central and South America (Goodrich et al. 2014). Reforestation in parts of eastern North America likely increased breeding habitat in the 20th century (Goodrich et al. 2014), though the amount of available large tracts is not well known. Forest management regimes that limit timber growth to less than 40-year cycles are likely unfavorable to the species (Goodrich et al. 2014).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.