WhenToBird

Falco sparverius · Falconidae

When Do American Kestrels Arrive in Utah?

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

American Kestrels are in Utah all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early November, peak in late December (18% of checklists), and fall back by mid February. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 6.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildNov 1-7early November
PeakDec 22-31late December
Fall back byFeb 15-21mid February
FewestJul 15-21mid July

Best: late December. Here all year; numbers build from early November and fall back by mid February. Peak: on about 18% of Utah checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 19% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 16% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 16% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 12% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 11% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.9% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.1% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 10% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.9% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.9% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.3% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.4% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.2% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.8% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.5% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.1% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.5% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.5% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.6% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.3% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 16% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 17% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 17% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 17% of 9982 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 Utah 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.

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Where in Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Davis CountyBest the second week of January · 622 checklists that week, 39,952 in all35%
  2. Box Elder CountyBest early January · 154 checklists that week, 9,867 in all31%
  3. Morgan CountyBest late April · 117 checklists that week, 3,178 in all30%
  4. Tooele CountyBest the second week of January · 75 checklists that week, 4,788 in all30%
  5. Sevier CountyBest the second week of September · 87 checklists that week, 5,167 in all25%
  6. Utah CountyBest early December · 1050 checklists that week, 70,971 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Utah State Department of Wildlife Resources 165Davis County, best mid January · 110 checklists that week, 4,840 in all78%
  2. Dry CreekUtah County, best the second week of January · 45 checklists that week, 2,498 in all77%
  3. Ogden Bay State Wildlife Area (South Fork Weber River)Weber County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 302 in all73%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the American Kestrel is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 13% of 11714 checklists7 am: 12% of 33209 checklists8 am: 11% of 46944 checklists9 am: 12% of 46290 checklists10 am: 12% of 43144 checklists11 am: 13% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 14% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 13% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 13% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 13% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 12% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 10% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 8.8% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 7.3% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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
January19%17%16%16%
February15%14%12%13%
March12%13%12%11%
April11%11%12%11%
May9.9%9.1%10%7.9%
June6.9%7.3%7.4%7.2%
July6.8%6.5%7.1%6.5%
August6.5%7.6%9.3%12%
September14%13%15%13%
October11%11%11%12%
November12%13%14%16%
December17%17%17%17%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives mid March, 18 weeks later than Utah
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of September
  • Colorado: year-round, peaks the second week of December
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks late December

Common questions

When do American Kestrels arrive in Utah?
American Kestrels are in Utah all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early November, peak in late December (18% of checklists), and fall back by mid February. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 6.7% of checklists.
When do American Kestrels leave Utah?
American Kestrels never fully leave Utah: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid February, but some are still reported in every week, about 6.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a American Kestrel in Utah?
The American Kestrel is reported most often in late December, on about 18% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are American Kestrels seen most often?
By county, Davis County, Box Elder County, and Morgan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Kestrel (counties with at least 200 checklists).