WhenToBird

Astur cooperii · Accipitridae

When Do Cooper's Hawks Arrive in Utah?

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

The Cooper's Hawk is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 6.9% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 3.5% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 15-21mid September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: mid September. Here all year. Peak: on about 6.9% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 4.5% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.9% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.4% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.8% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.5% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.5% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.8% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.6% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.6% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.4% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.6% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.0% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.4% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.0% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.9% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.8% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.3% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.4% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.2% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.9% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.5% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.5% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.6% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.6% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.9% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.9% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.9% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.0% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.4% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.4% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.4% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.3% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.8% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.8% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.3% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.6% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.4% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.8% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 4.6% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.5% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.2% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.5% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.9% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.8% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.6% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.0% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.1% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.7% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Morgan CountyBest mid September · 24 checklists that week, 3,178 in all21%
  2. Salt Lake CountyBest mid September · 1660 checklists that week, 104,432 in all11%
  3. Washington CountyBest the second week of April · 2010 checklists that week, 43,893 in all11%
  4. Sanpete CountyBest late July · 171 checklists that week, 6,190 in all8.3%
  5. Davis CountyBest mid September · 811 checklists that week, 39,952 in all7.5%
  6. Utah CountyBest early September · 1073 checklists that week, 70,971 in all7.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santa Clara ReservoirWashington County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 199 in all74%
  2. Liberty ParkSalt Lake County, best early September · 26 checklists that week, 1,708 in all53%
  3. Welcome SpringWashington County, best the second week of April · 38 checklists that week, 143 in all49%
  4. Tonaquint ParkWashington County, best late March · 137 checklists that week, 3,677 in all42%
  5. Indian CanyonWashington County, best late April · 145 checklists that week, 1,539 in all38%
  6. Mount Olivet ReservoirSalt Lake County, best early July · 34 checklists that week, 2,821 in all38%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Cooper's Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 6.8% of 11714 checklists7 am: 6.9% of 33209 checklists8 am: 6.2% of 46944 checklists9 am: 5.3% of 46290 checklists10 am: 4.5% of 43144 checklists11 am: 4.2% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 3.6% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 3.6% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 3.8% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 4.2% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 4.3% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 4.7% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 4.3% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 3.5% 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
January4.5%3.9%4.4%3.8%
February3.5%3.5%3.8%3.6%
March3.6%4.4%4.6%5.0%
April5.4%6.0%5.9%5.8%
May5.3%4.4%4.2%3.9%
June3.5%3.5%3.6%3.6%
July3.9%3.9%3.9%5.0%
August5.4%5.4%5.4%6.3%
September5.8%6.8%7.3%6.6%
October5.4%4.8%4.6%4.5%
November4.2%4.5%3.9%4.8%
December4.6%5.0%5.1%4.7%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: summer visitor, peaks the second week of September
  • Nevada: all year, most in fall, peaks late September
  • Colorado: all year, most in spring, peaks late April
  • Idaho: all year, most in fall, peaks mid September

Common questions

When do Cooper's Hawks arrive in Utah?
The Cooper's Hawk is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 6.9% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 3.5% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Cooper's Hawks leave Utah?
The Cooper's Hawk does not leave Utah: it is reported all year, from 3.5% of checklists in the second week of June to 6.9% in mid September.
When is the best time to see a Cooper's Hawk in Utah?
The Cooper's Hawk is reported most often in mid September, on about 6.9% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Cooper's Hawks seen most often?
By county, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cooper's Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).