WhenToBird

Buteo jamaicensis · Accipitridae

When Do Red-tailed Hawks Arrive in Virginia?

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

The Red-tailed Hawk is in Virginia all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 4.7% in its quietest week (late June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 15-21mid November
Quietest weekJun 22-30late June

Best: mid November. Here all year. Peak: on about 11% of Virginia checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  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: 9.9% of 32817 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 25111 checklistsJan 15-21: 9.5% of 25510 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.5% of 34492 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.8% of 24950 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.9% of 28224 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.9% of 43578 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.4% of 26467 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.9% of 25851 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.8% of 25901 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.1% of 26747 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.1% of 40819 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.2% of 31351 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.5% of 33239 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.9% of 37284 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.5% of 54364 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.1% of 47698 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.0% of 46174 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.4% of 36444 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.3% of 43203 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.1% of 28503 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.8% of 25485 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.7% of 23728 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.8% of 28785 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.6% of 22294 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.2% of 20481 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.4% of 18914 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.9% of 26976 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.2% of 19555 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.5% of 18744 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.6% of 18721 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.5% of 28763 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.6% of 23594 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.3% of 22581 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.8% of 23036 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.0% of 29687 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.6% of 24321 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.1% of 23946 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.8% of 22191 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.7% of 30161 checklistsNov 1-7: 10% of 21431 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 22758 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 19988 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 27665 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.6% of 19324 checklistsDec 8-14: 10% of 20316 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 25675 checklistsDec 22-31: 10% of 38677 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 Virginia 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 Virginia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Staunton CountyBest mid January · 123 checklists that week, 4,717 in all50%
  2. Charles CityBest mid January · 35 checklists that week, 2,357 in all43%
  3. Russell CountyBest late September · 29 checklists that week, 770 in all39%
  4. Highland CountyBest mid November · 11 checklists that week, 4,762 in all38%
  5. Clarke CountyBest late November · 211 checklists that week, 8,388 in all37%
  6. Rappahannock CountyBest mid January · 54 checklists that week, 5,074 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rockfish GapAugusta County, best late November · 61 checklists that week, 986 in all96%
  2. Harveys KnobBotetourt County, best the second week of November · 20 checklists that week, 367 in all79%

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

Best time of day

In Virginia, the Red-tailed Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (9.9% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (485) to judge1 am: too few checklists (488) to judge2 am: too few checklists (423) to judge3 am: too few checklists (565) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1410) to judge5 am: too few checklists (10265) to judge6 am: 4.4% of 64788 checklists7 am: 6.2% of 169128 checklists8 am: 7.2% of 180748 checklists9 am: 8.6% of 153462 checklists10 am: 9.8% of 128966 checklists11 am: 10% of 104204 checklists12 pm: 9.8% of 91604 checklists1 pm: 9.4% of 85547 checklists2 pm: 8.8% of 82355 checklists3 pm: 7.2% of 82265 checklists4 pm: 5.9% of 76714 checklists5 pm: 4.3% of 56782 checklists6 pm: 3.0% of 40131 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24290) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7744) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2383) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January9.9%10%9.5%9.5%
February9.8%7.9%7.9%9.4%
March9.9%8.8%8.1%8.1%
April8.2%7.5%6.9%6.5%
May6.1%6.0%5.4%5.3%
June5.1%4.8%4.7%4.8%
July4.6%5.2%4.4%4.9%
August5.2%5.5%5.6%5.5%
September5.6%5.3%6.8%6.0%
October6.6%7.1%8.8%8.7%
November10%11%11%11%
December9.6%10%12%10%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: all year, most in winter, peaks mid November
  • Maryland: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of November
  • West Virginia: year-round, peaks mid November
  • Delaware: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of November

Common questions

When do Red-tailed Hawks arrive in Virginia?
The Red-tailed Hawk is in Virginia all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 4.7% in its quietest week (late June).
When do Red-tailed Hawks leave Virginia?
The Red-tailed Hawk does not leave Virginia: it is reported all year, from 4.7% of checklists in late June to 11% in mid November.
When is the best time to see a Red-tailed Hawk in Virginia?
The Red-tailed Hawk is reported most often in mid November, on about 11% of Virginia checklists.
Where in Virginia are Red-tailed Hawks seen most often?
By county, Staunton County, Charles City, and Russell County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-tailed Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).