WhenToBird

Buteo jamaicensis · Accipitridae

When Do Red-tailed Hawks Arrive in Vermont?

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

Red-tailed Hawks are in Vermont all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in mid January (10% of checklists), and fall back by mid April. In the quietest week (early July) they are still on about 2.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakJan 15-21mid January
Fall back byApr 15-21mid April
FewestJul 1-7early July

Best: mid January. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of October and fall back by mid April. Peak: on about 10% of Vermont checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 9.4% of 12234 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 8293 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 7885 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.8% of 10534 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.6% of 7212 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.6% of 8144 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.9% of 10480 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.0% of 7932 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.0% of 8192 checklistsMar 8-14: 10% of 9383 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.4% of 10620 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.5% of 16257 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.8% of 12568 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.8% of 14677 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.4% of 14106 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.8% of 19617 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.1% of 18143 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.2% of 19626 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.4% of 17779 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.3% of 20310 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.0% of 11493 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.0% of 10215 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.4% of 9951 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.8% of 11050 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.8% of 8690 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.7% of 7679 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.0% of 7687 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.2% of 10712 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.4% of 7703 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.7% of 7743 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.4% of 8314 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.7% of 12428 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.1% of 9526 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.0% of 8493 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.3% of 8283 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.3% of 10352 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.2% of 8802 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.9% of 9088 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.6% of 7739 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.3% of 10907 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.6% of 7868 checklistsNov 8-14: 9.1% of 7223 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.5% of 7224 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.1% of 8375 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.5% of 6580 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.4% of 6800 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.8% of 8334 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.7% of 10579 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 Vermont 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 Vermont

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Addison CountyBest mid January · 1544 checklists that week, 77,064 in all17%
  2. Bennington CountyBest early January · 466 checklists that week, 21,621 in all16%
  3. Rutland CountyBest mid January · 757 checklists that week, 46,909 in all16%
  4. Windham CountyBest early March · 795 checklists that week, 39,105 in all15%
  5. Grand Isle CountyBest the second week of December · 125 checklists that week, 8,507 in all12%
  6. Chittenden CountyBest mid March · 2139 checklists that week, 109,477 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Putney Great MeadowsWindham County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 276 in all54%
  2. Second Branch White RiverWindsor County, best mid November · 25 checklists that week, 769 in all52%

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

Best time of day

In Vermont, the Red-tailed Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (9.3% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (384) to judge1 am: too few checklists (418) to judge2 am: too few checklists (568) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3460) to judge5 am: 2.6% of 10340 checklists6 am: 3.7% of 30951 checklists7 am: 4.3% of 64150 checklists8 am: 5.7% of 70252 checklists9 am: 7.3% of 55280 checklists10 am: 8.9% of 47111 checklists11 am: 9.2% of 37615 checklists12 pm: 8.9% of 32195 checklists1 pm: 9.5% of 30185 checklists2 pm: 9.0% of 29679 checklists3 pm: 7.8% of 26483 checklists4 pm: 6.1% of 20110 checklists5 pm: 4.3% of 15993 checklists6 pm: 3.1% of 12110 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (8203) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4425) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1829) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (597) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (309) 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
January9.4%10%10%9.8%
February8.6%8.6%7.9%9.0%
March9.0%10%9.4%9.5%
April8.8%7.8%6.4%5.8%
May5.1%5.2%4.4%4.3%
June4.0%4.0%3.4%2.8%
July2.8%2.7%3.0%4.2%
August4.4%4.7%4.4%4.7%
September5.1%5.0%5.3%5.3%
October6.2%6.9%7.6%8.3%
November8.6%9.1%8.5%8.1%
December7.5%8.4%8.8%7.7%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Red-tailed Hawks arrive in Vermont?
Red-tailed Hawks are in Vermont all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in mid January (10% of checklists), and fall back by mid April. In the quietest week (early July) they are still on about 2.8% of checklists.
When do Red-tailed Hawks leave Vermont?
Red-tailed Hawks never fully leave Vermont: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid April, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-tailed Hawk in Vermont?
The Red-tailed Hawk is reported most often in mid January, on about 10% of Vermont checklists.
Where in Vermont are Red-tailed Hawks seen most often?
By county, Addison County, Bennington County, and Rutland County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-tailed Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).