WhenToBird

Buteo platypterus · Accipitridae

When Do Broad-winged Hawks Arrive in Virginia?

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

Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Virginia in the second week of April, peak in mid September (3.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: mid September. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 3.5% of Virginia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0% of 32817 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 25111 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 25510 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34492 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 24950 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 28224 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 43578 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 26467 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 25851 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 25901 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 26747 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 40819 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.2% of 31351 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 33239 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.6% of 37284 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.1% of 54364 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.4% of 47698 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 46174 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 36444 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 43203 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 28503 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 25485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.0% of 23728 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 28785 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 22294 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.1% of 20481 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 18914 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 26976 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 19555 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 18744 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 18721 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 28763 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.6% of 23594 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 22581 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.1% of 23036 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.3% of 29687 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.8% of 24321 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 23946 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 22191 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 30161 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21431 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 22758 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19988 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 27665 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 19324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 20316 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 25675 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 38677 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 Virginia 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 Virginia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Russell CountyBest late September · 29 checklists that week, 770 in all57%
  2. Bland CountyBest late September · 17 checklists that week, 780 in all31%
  3. Clarke CountyBest mid September · 237 checklists that week, 8,388 in all29%
  4. Patrick CountyBest mid September · 59 checklists that week, 3,252 in all23%
  5. Augusta CountyBest mid September · 638 checklists that week, 25,414 in all20%
  6. Botetourt CountyBest mid September · 190 checklists that week, 12,409 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rockfish GapAugusta County, best mid September · 169 checklists that week, 986 in all80%
  2. Bears Den HostelClarke County, best mid September · 86 checklists that week, 252 in all78%
  3. Harveys KnobBotetourt County, best late September · 51 checklists that week, 367 in all70%
  4. Kiptopeke State Park (Butlers Bluff)Northampton County, best the second week of September · 86 checklists that week, 868 in all44%
  5. Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife RefugeNorthampton County, best late September · 86 checklists that week, 1,401 in all30%
  6. George Washington National ForestAugusta County, best mid April · 45 checklists that week, 814 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Virginia, the Broad-winged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (1.2% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (485) to judge1 am: too few checklists (488) to judge2 am: too few checklists (423) to judge3 am: too few checklists (565) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1410) to judge5 am: too few checklists (10265) to judge6 am: 0.6% of 64788 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 169128 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 180748 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 153462 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 128966 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 104204 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 91604 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 85547 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 82355 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 82265 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 76714 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 56782 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 40131 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24290) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7744) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2383) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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%0.1%
April0.2%1.5%2.6%2.1%
May1.4%1.1%1.0%1.0%
June0.9%1.1%1.0%1.2%
July0.9%1.1%1.0%1.0%
August1.0%0.9%1.1%1.4%
September1.6%2.0%5.1%3.3%
October1.8%0.7%0.4%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: arrives early September, 19 weeks later than Virginia
  • Maryland: arrives early April, 1 week earlier than Virginia
  • West Virginia: arrives early April, 1 week earlier than Virginia
  • Delaware: arrives mid August, 17 weeks later than Virginia

Common questions

When do Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Virginia?
Broad-winged Hawks arrive in Virginia in the second week of April, peak in mid September (3.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Broad-winged Hawks leave Virginia?
Most Broad-winged Hawks have left Virginia by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Broad-winged Hawk in Virginia?
The Broad-winged Hawk is reported most often in mid September, on about 3.5% of Virginia checklists.
Where in Virginia are Broad-winged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Russell County, Bland County, and Clarke County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Broad-winged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).