WhenToBird

Pandion haliaetus · Pandionidae

When Do Ospreys Arrive in Oregon?

Adult female Osprey
Photo: Bill Levine, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Ospreys reach Oregon in mid March, are common by late March, peak in mid August (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: mid August. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 15% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.2% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.8% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 10% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 12% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 10% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.9% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 10% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.7% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.9% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.7% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.1% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.7% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Columbia CountyBest mid August · 453 checklists that week, 27,750 in all37%
  2. Curry CountyBest the second week of August · 278 checklists that week, 12,513 in all36%
  3. Hood River CountyBest late August · 330 checklists that week, 9,695 in all36%
  4. Sherman CountyBest early September · 75 checklists that week, 4,629 in all31%
  5. Wasco CountyBest late August · 304 checklists that week, 13,127 in all31%
  6. Morrow CountyBest mid August · 88 checklists that week, 3,484 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Guiles LakeColumbia County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 2,621 in all99%
  2. M James Gleason Memorial Boat RampMultnomah County, best mid August · 173 checklists that week, 5,550 in all96%
  3. Rooster Rock State ParkMultnomah County, best late July · 24 checklists that week, 943 in all94%
  4. Indian CreekCurry County, best the second week of September · 24 checklists that week, 166 in all91%
  5. Deschutes River Segment ADeschutes County, best mid June · 26 checklists that week, 318 in all91%
  6. Kelley Point ParkMultnomah County, best the second week of May · 29 checklists that week, 992 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Osprey is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (8.2% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 8.8% of 50677 checklists7 am: 7.9% of 125347 checklists8 am: 7.6% of 163668 checklists9 am: 7.6% of 160351 checklists10 am: 7.1% of 148940 checklists11 am: 6.2% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 5.6% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 5.5% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 5.5% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 5.5% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 5.8% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 6.5% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 6.7% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 5.9% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.7%2.2%5.8%
April10%12%13%12%
May13%11%11%10%
June9.9%10%11%10%
July11%12%13%13%
August14%15%16%15%
September12%9.7%6.9%3.7%
October2.1%1.5%1.0%0.7%
November0.4%0.4%0.3%0.2%
December0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives late March, 1 week later than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid March, in the same week than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives the second week of July, 15 weeks later than Oregon
  • California: year-round, peaks the second week of August

Common questions

When do Ospreys arrive in Oregon?
Ospreys reach Oregon in mid March, are common by late March, peak in mid August (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Ospreys leave Oregon?
Most Ospreys have left Oregon by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Osprey in Oregon?
The Osprey is reported most often in mid August, on about 15% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Ospreys seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Curry County, and Hood River County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Osprey (counties with at least 200 checklists).