WhenToBird

Falco peregrinus · Falconidae

When Do Peregrine Falcons Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Peregrine Falcon
Photo: Andrea Poggi, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Peregrine Falcons arrive in Oregon in mid June, peak in mid September (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 15-21mid June
Common byJun 15-21mid June
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: mid September. First arrivals mid June; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 2.3% of Oregon checklists.

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

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.8% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.4% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.6% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.5% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.4% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.1% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.2% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.1% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.7% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.7% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.1% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.2% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.3% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.2% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.4% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.4% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.1% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.0% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.0% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.8% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.8% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.0% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.8% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.4% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.6% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.5% 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 the second week of September · 517 checklists that week, 27,750 in all9.0%
  2. Curry CountyBest the second week of January · 142 checklists that week, 12,513 in all7.4%
  3. Tillamook CountyBest late November · 986 checklists that week, 45,809 in all5.0%
  4. Gilliam CountyBest late August · 41 checklists that week, 2,323 in all4.9%
  5. Coos CountyBest late September · 674 checklists that week, 24,368 in all4.9%
  6. Umatilla CountyBest the second week of September · 230 checklists that week, 17,651 in all4.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (Starfish Cove)Lincoln County, best late March · 37 checklists that week, 1,296 in all51%
  2. The WashColumbia County, best the second week of September · 42 checklists that week, 274 in all41%
  3. Silver Falls State ParkMarion County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 653 in all40%
  4. Johnson Lake (Dairy Creek)Multnomah County, best the second week of September · 23 checklists that week, 145 in all39%
  5. Cape Meares State Scenic ViewpointTillamook County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 646 in all34%
  6. Smith Rock State ParkDeschutes County, best mid June · 54 checklists that week, 1,733 in all32%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Peregrine Falcon is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (1.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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: 1.2% of 50677 checklists7 am: 1.5% of 125347 checklists8 am: 1.6% of 163668 checklists9 am: 1.6% of 160351 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 148940 checklists11 am: 1.5% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 1.5% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.5% 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
January1.8%1.4%1.6%1.5%
February1.4%1.1%1.1%1.1%
March1.1%1.2%1.0%1.0%
April1.0%1.1%1.0%1.1%
May1.1%0.7%0.8%0.6%
June0.6%0.7%0.6%0.7%
July0.8%0.8%1.0%1.1%
August1.4%1.8%1.9%2.2%
September2.3%2.2%2.4%2.4%
October2.0%2.1%2.0%2.0%
November1.8%1.8%2.0%1.9%
December1.8%1.4%1.6%1.5%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives the second week of July, 3 weeks later than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives late January, 19 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives the second week of June, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • California: arrives late May, 3 weeks earlier than Oregon

Common questions

When do Peregrine Falcons arrive in Oregon?
Peregrine Falcons arrive in Oregon in mid June, peak in mid September (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Peregrine Falcons leave Oregon?
Most Peregrine Falcons have left Oregon by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Peregrine Falcon in Oregon?
The Peregrine Falcon is reported most often in mid September, on about 2.3% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Peregrine Falcons seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Curry County, and Tillamook County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Peregrine Falcon (counties with at least 200 checklists).