Can a hawk see further than 500 km?

Answer 1

Is a hawk going to be looking for prey or enemies over 300 miles away? No, it isn't. A hawk's vision is much better than ours. It can resolve something the size of a rabbit a mile away without much difficulty. (It may not recognize it if it is just sitting there, but if it moves, then it's game on.) Both the hawk and people can see the moon, and it's, like, 225 thousand miles away. But what does that mean? Generally speaking, hawks can see "five times better" than people. They have about that many times more photoreceptors in their eyes, so that may provide a basis of comparison. If you can find a "5x" magnifier and can use it to look around you, you may have some idea what a hawk can do with its vision. Birds of Prey don't "look for stuff" as far away as even 20 miles, though they may be able to do that. They scan a circle of terrain about their location that will vary in size a bit as the geography and the "likelihood" of something to eat being there. Hawks use their hunting time looking at area fairly close to their location. If the hunting "looks better" over thataway, then they'll fly on over and hang out there to look for something to eat. Looking for stuff to eat even 5 to 10 miles away isn't generally good logistics for birds of prey. They will, however, notice other birds of prey at great distances. A mate or intruder may be "nearby" and that calls for action.

Answer 2

No, hawks typically have a visual range of up to 2-3 km, which is much less than 500 km. Their excellent eyesight helps them spot prey from great heights while flying, but they cannot see distances as far as 500 km.