WhenToBird

Buteo platypterus · Accipitridae

When Do Broad-winged Hawks Arrive in Mississippi?

Adult Broad-winged Hawk
Photo: Donald Davesne, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Mississippi in mid March, peak in the second week of April (3.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 3.4% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0% of 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.3% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.2% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.8% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.3% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.4% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.2% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.2% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.8% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.6% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.9% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 4466 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Simpson CountyBest the second week of April · 17 checklists that week, 637 in all22%
  2. Warren CountyBest the second week of April · 68 checklists that week, 1,855 in all16%
  3. Choctaw CountyBest early October · 14 checklists that week, 361 in all15%
  4. George CountyBest the second week of April · 11 checklists that week, 490 in all13%
  5. Marion CountyBest the second week of April · 15 checklists that week, 380 in all13%
  6. Forrest CountyBest the second week of April · 107 checklists that week, 4,572 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bouie RiverForrest County, best the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 746 in all33%
  2. Vicksburg National Military ParkWarren County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 383 in all33%
  3. The DellLafayette County, best mid April · 39 checklists that week, 431 in all12%
  4. Bogue HomaHancock County, best late April · 31 checklists that week, 271 in all11%
  5. Plymouth BluffLowndes County, best the second week of April · 27 checklists that week, 333 in all11%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Broad-winged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (54) to judge1 am: too few checklists (48) to judge2 am: too few checklists (28) to judge3 am: too few checklists (60) to judge4 am: too few checklists (114) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1139) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 9054 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 18481 checklists8 am: 1.1% of 17525 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 15482 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 14380 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 6018 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2387) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (114) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (63) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (48) 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%1.3%
April3.2%3.8%3.3%2.4%
May2.2%1.3%1.2%1.2%
June1.2%1.1%1.2%0.9%
July1.2%0.6%0.9%1.0%
August0.4%0.6%0.7%0.9%
September0.8%1.0%1.3%1.6%
October0.7%0.6%0.9%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: arrives late March, 1 week later than Mississippi
  • Louisiana: arrives mid March, in the same week than Mississippi
  • Arkansas: arrives late March, 1 week later than Mississippi
  • Georgia: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Mississippi

Common questions

When do Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Mississippi?
Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Mississippi in mid March, peak in the second week of April (3.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Broad-winged Hawks leave Mississippi?
Most Broad-winged Hawks have left Mississippi by early August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Broad-winged Hawk in Mississippi?
The Broad-winged Hawk is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 3.4% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Broad-winged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Simpson County, Warren County, and Choctaw County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Broad-winged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).