WhenToBird

Buteo lineatus · Accipitridae

When Do Red-shouldered Hawks Arrive in Iowa?

Adult Red-shouldered Hawk
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red-shouldered Hawks arrive in Iowa in late January, peak in mid September (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsJan 22-31late January
Common byJan 22-31late January
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: mid September. First arrivals late January; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 2.5% of Iowa checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.1% of 5551 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 3498 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 3803 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.0% of 4807 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 3613 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 4173 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 5796 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.3% of 4394 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.4% of 5295 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.5% of 5679 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 5418 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 8613 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 6970 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 7511 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 8321 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 11976 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 11725 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 12626 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 9372 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.4% of 10330 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 5472 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 4568 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 3870 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.1% of 4780 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 4201 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 3605 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.1% of 3621 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 5093 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 3931 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.3% of 3488 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 3802 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.9% of 6293 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.9% of 5328 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.4% of 4622 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.4% of 4367 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.6% of 6086 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.3% of 4708 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.6% of 4791 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.5% of 4429 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.0% of 5633 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 4090 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 3416 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.8% of 3398 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.1% of 4679 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 3442 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 3322 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.6% of 4619 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 5113 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 Iowa 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 Iowa

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bremer CountyBest late June · 74 checklists that week, 3,421 in all26%
  2. Appanoose CountyBest mid July · 10 checklists that week, 820 in all17%
  3. Lee CountyBest mid June · 38 checklists that week, 1,488 in all17%
  4. Montgomery CountyBest mid October · 13 checklists that week, 213 in all17%
  5. Union CountyBest early September · 16 checklists that week, 1,133 in all16%
  6. Benton CountyBest mid September · 35 checklists that week, 1,453 in all16%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. George Wyth State ParkBlack Hawk County, best mid February · 28 checklists that week, 984 in all32%
  2. Hartman Reserve Nature CenterBlack Hawk County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 711 in all29%
  3. Shimek State ForestLee County, best late May · 29 checklists that week, 156 in all28%
  4. Kuehn Conservation AreaDallas County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 219 in all26%
  5. Grammer Grove Wildlife AreaMarshall County, best late March · 23 checklists that week, 766 in all25%
  6. Winegar Lake-Tobin Park AccessBenton County, best late September · 26 checklists that week, 288 in all24%

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

Best time of day

In Iowa, the Red-shouldered Hawk 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 (96) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (67) to judge3 am: too few checklists (82) to judge4 am: too few checklists (201) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1888) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 11313 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 25717 checklists8 am: 1.6% of 29755 checklists9 am: 1.5% of 28897 checklists10 am: 1.6% of 26343 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 21210 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 17662 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 16595 checklists2 pm: 1.1% of 16405 checklists3 pm: 1.0% of 17030 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 17378 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 14251 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 10349 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 6233 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2002) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (392) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (186) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (87) 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
January1.1%0.5%0.6%1.0%
February1.1%1.0%0.5%1.3%
March1.4%1.5%1.2%1.1%
April0.9%0.9%0.9%1.0%
May1.1%0.9%1.1%1.4%
June0.7%0.9%0.9%1.1%
July0.7%0.7%1.1%0.8%
August0.7%1.3%1.7%1.9%
September1.9%2.4%2.4%2.6%
October2.3%1.6%1.5%1.0%
November1.1%0.9%0.8%1.1%
December0.5%0.6%1.6%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Missouri: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Minnesota: arrives late February, 4 weeks later than Iowa
  • Illinois: arrives mid June, 19 weeks later than Iowa
  • Kansas: year-round, peaks late September

Common questions

When do Red-shouldered Hawks arrive in Iowa?
Red-shouldered Hawks arrive in Iowa in late January, peak in mid September (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Red-shouldered Hawks leave Iowa?
Most Red-shouldered Hawks have left Iowa by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late November.
When is the best time to see a Red-shouldered Hawk in Iowa?
The Red-shouldered Hawk is reported most often in mid September, on about 2.5% of Iowa checklists.
Where in Iowa are Red-shouldered Hawks seen most often?
By county, Bremer County, Appanoose County, and Lee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-shouldered Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).