WhenToBird

Falco sparverius · Falconidae

When Do American Kestrels Arrive in Oregon?

Adult male American Kestrel
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The American Kestrel is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 12% of checklists at its peak (late December) and on 5.0% in its quietest week (mid July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 22-31late December
Quietest weekJul 15-21mid July

Best: late December. Here all year. Peak: on about 12% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 12% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 11% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 11% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 9.2% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 9.3% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.2% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.8% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.8% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.5% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.1% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.6% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.8% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.1% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.0% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.0% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.2% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.6% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.4% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.8% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.5% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.7% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.3% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.2% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.9% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.1% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.4% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.8% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.8% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.2% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.6% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.2% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.9% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.7% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.3% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.3% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.3% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.8% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 9.3% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 10% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% of 37592 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Oregon that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Malheur CountyBest early February · 13 checklists that week, 4,699 in all47%
  2. Polk CountyBest mid November · 511 checklists that week, 29,096 in all36%
  3. Wheeler CountyBest the second week of February · 23 checklists that week, 3,129 in all34%
  4. Umatilla CountyBest late January · 512 checklists that week, 17,651 in all32%
  5. Crook CountyBest mid December · 49 checklists that week, 9,466 in all32%
  6. Linn CountyBest mid December · 986 checklists that week, 27,533 in all26%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Powell ButteMultnomah County, best mid November · 21 checklists that week, 3,020 in all86%
  2. Letteken Ponds (east)Polk County, best mid January · 30 checklists that week, 779 in all86%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Oregon, the American Kestrel is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (9.5% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 6.1% of 50677 checklists7 am: 7.5% of 125347 checklists8 am: 8.4% of 163668 checklists9 am: 9.4% of 160351 checklists10 am: 9.6% of 148940 checklists11 am: 9.4% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 8.9% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 9.0% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 8.7% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 8.2% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 6.3% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 5.2% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 4.3% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 2.9% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January12%11%11%11%
February11%9.2%9.3%9.2%
March8.8%8.8%8.5%8.1%
April7.6%7.8%7.1%6.0%
May6.0%6.2%6.6%6.4%
June5.8%5.5%5.7%5.3%
July5.2%4.9%4.9%5.1%
August5.4%5.8%6.8%7.2%
September7.6%7.2%7.9%7.7%
October7.3%7.3%8.3%8.8%
November9.3%10%11%11%
December11%12%12%11%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks mid November
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks late December
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of September
  • California: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of December

Common questions

When do American Kestrels arrive in Oregon?
The American Kestrel is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 12% of checklists at its peak (late December) and on 5.0% in its quietest week (mid July).
When do American Kestrels leave Oregon?
The American Kestrel does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 5.0% of checklists in mid July to 12% in late December.
When is the best time to see a American Kestrel in Oregon?
The American Kestrel is reported most often in late December, on about 12% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are American Kestrels seen most often?
By county, Malheur County, Polk County, and Wheeler County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Kestrel (counties with at least 200 checklists).