WhenToBird

Buteo jamaicensis · Accipitridae

When Do Red-tailed Hawks Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Red-tailed Hawk
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Red-tailed Hawk is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 9.1% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekOct 22-31late October
Quietest weekJun 15-21mid June

Best: late October. Here all year. Peak: on about 21% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 20% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 19% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 17% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 18% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 17% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 17% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 19% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 20% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 11% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 10% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 10% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.5% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.5% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.4% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.3% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.7% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.8% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.8% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 18% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 21% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 22% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 22% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 20% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 20% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 19% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 21% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 22% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 20% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nuckolls CountyBest late February · 18 checklists that week, 590 in all61%
  2. Stanton CountyBest late October · 12 checklists that week, 835 in all58%
  3. Banner CountyBest the second week of August · 10 checklists that week, 689 in all55%
  4. Johnson CountyBest late October · 12 checklists that week, 429 in all47%
  5. Burt CountyBest the second week of December · 13 checklists that week, 1,011 in all46%
  6. Dundy CountyBest mid December · 13 checklists that week, 623 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Prairie Dog Federal Waterfowl Production AreaKearney County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 172 in all64%
  2. Fontenelle Forest Association Local Resource Management AreaSarpy County, best late January · 29 checklists that week, 1,623 in all63%
  3. Phelps County Waterfowl Production AreaPhelps County, best late March · 35 checklists that week, 278 in all55%
  4. Two Rivers State Recreation AreaDouglas County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 436 in all52%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Red-tailed Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 11% of 6945 checklists7 am: 11% of 19066 checklists8 am: 13% of 24661 checklists9 am: 15% of 23438 checklists10 am: 17% of 20424 checklists11 am: 18% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 18% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 18% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 18% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 17% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 15% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 12% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 10% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 7.3% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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
January20%19%17%18%
February17%15%16%17%
March19%20%20%19%
April17%14%14%12%
May11%10%10%9.5%
June9.5%9.4%9.3%8.7%
July11%8.8%8.8%11%
August11%10%11%11%
September11%14%15%16%
October18%20%21%22%
November22%20%19%20%
December19%21%22%20%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks the second week of December
  • South Dakota: year-round, peaks late March
  • Iowa: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of November
  • Missouri: year-round, peaks the second week of December

Common questions

When do Red-tailed Hawks arrive in Nebraska?
The Red-tailed Hawk is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 9.1% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Red-tailed Hawks leave Nebraska?
The Red-tailed Hawk does not leave Nebraska: it is reported all year, from 9.1% of checklists in mid June to 21% in late October.
When is the best time to see a Red-tailed Hawk in Nebraska?
The Red-tailed Hawk is reported most often in late October, on about 21% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Red-tailed Hawks seen most often?
By county, Nuckolls County, Stanton County, and Banner County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-tailed Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).