WhenToBird

Astur cooperii · Accipitridae

When Do Cooper's Hawks Arrive in Nevada?

Adult male Cooper's Hawk
Photo: Shirley Zundell, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Cooper's Hawks are in Nevada all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early September, peak in late September (17% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of January. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 6.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 1-7early September
PeakSep 22-30late September
Fall back byJan 8-14the second week of January
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: late September. Here all year; numbers build from early September and fall back by the second week of January. Peak: on about 17% of Nevada checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 12% of 5121 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 3908 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 4000 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 4991 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.7% of 3377 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 3747 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 4852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 12% of 3712 checklistsMar 1-7: 12% of 3745 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 3763 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 4188 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 6027 checklistsApr 1-7: 13% of 4679 checklistsApr 8-14: 13% of 4609 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 4709 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 6984 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.9% of 5702 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.8% of 5928 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.0% of 5353 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.4% of 7352 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.2% of 4360 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.3% of 4183 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.7% of 3751 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.5% of 4126 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.4% of 3231 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.1% of 3024 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.5% of 2967 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.9% of 4212 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.1% of 2828 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.2% of 3036 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.2% of 3076 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 4345 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 3369 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 3728 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 3535 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 5028 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 3976 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 3781 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 3577 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 4986 checklistsNov 1-7: 15% of 3592 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 3685 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 3399 checklistsNov 22-30: 15% of 4544 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 3162 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 3191 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 3615 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 5101 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 Nevada 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 Nevada

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clark CountyBest late September · 1948 checklists that week, 80,458 in all25%
  2. Lander CountyBest late September · 32 checklists that week, 1,413 in all22%
  3. Carson CityBest the second week of December · 164 checklists that week, 6,992 in all21%
  4. Lincoln CountyBest mid July · 40 checklists that week, 3,842 in all20%
  5. Douglas CountyBest the second week of October · 155 checklists that week, 7,476 in all20%
  6. Churchill CountyBest late February · 40 checklists that week, 3,104 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Corn Creek SpringsClark County, best mid July · 38 checklists that week, 6,865 in all69%
  2. Cottonwood LakeClark County, best the second week of September · 108 checklists that week, 4,195 in all56%
  3. Rancho San Rafael Regional ParkWashoe County, best the second week of March · 42 checklists that week, 2,403 in all53%
  4. University of Nevada - Las VegasClark County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 1,154 in all52%
  5. Robert B. Griffith Water ProjectClark County, best early October · 28 checklists that week, 2,177 in all51%

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

Best time of day

In Nevada, the Cooper's Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (19% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (114) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (71) to judge3 am: too few checklists (108) to judge4 am: too few checklists (459) to judge5 am: 18% of 4313 checklists6 am: 19% of 17070 checklists7 am: 18% of 27389 checklists8 am: 14% of 24858 checklists9 am: 11% of 22012 checklists10 am: 8.9% of 19284 checklists11 am: 7.9% of 15592 checklists12 pm: 7.0% of 12432 checklists1 pm: 7.4% of 11386 checklists2 pm: 7.9% of 11262 checklists3 pm: 8.1% of 10721 checklists4 pm: 7.6% of 9090 checklists5 pm: 6.9% of 6397 checklists6 pm: 6.1% of 5012 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3026) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (905) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (271) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (164) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (120) 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%12%12%12%
February9.7%12%12%12%
March12%13%12%12%
April13%13%12%12%
May9.9%8.8%8.0%6.4%
June7.2%6.3%6.7%6.5%
July6.4%7.1%6.5%7.9%
August8.1%9.2%9.2%11%
September12%14%17%17%
October17%16%15%15%
November15%14%13%15%
December13%13%14%13%

Neighboring states

  • California: year-round, peaks late September
  • Utah: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Idaho: arrives early September, in the same week than Nevada
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks early October

Common questions

When do Cooper's Hawks arrive in Nevada?
Cooper's Hawks are in Nevada all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early September, peak in late September (17% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of January. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 6.5% of checklists.
When do Cooper's Hawks leave Nevada?
Cooper's Hawks never fully leave Nevada: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of January, but some are still reported in every week, about 6.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Cooper's Hawk in Nevada?
The Cooper's Hawk is reported most often in late September, on about 17% of Nevada checklists.
Where in Nevada are Cooper's Hawks seen most often?
By county, Clark County, Lander County, and Carson City have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cooper's Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).