WhenToBird

Buteo jamaicensis · Accipitridae

When Do Red-tailed Hawks Arrive in Wisconsin?

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

The Red-tailed Hawk is in Wisconsin all year. It turns up on about 14% of checklists at its peak (early March) and on 6.3% in its quietest week (late June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 1-7early March
Quietest weekJun 22-30late June

Best: early March. Here all year. Peak: on about 14% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  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: 12% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 13% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 14% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 14% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 11% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 10% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.4% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.7% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.1% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.3% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.6% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.1% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.4% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.5% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.2% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.3% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.6% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.8% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.3% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.5% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.8% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.9% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.3% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 10% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 10% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Crawford CountyBest the second week of January · 44 checklists that week, 4,271 in all38%
  2. Lafayette CountyBest the second week of December · 26 checklists that week, 1,911 in all35%
  3. Green CountyBest late October · 56 checklists that week, 4,387 in all30%
  4. Iowa CountyBest mid December · 510 checklists that week, 18,836 in all27%
  5. Grant CountyBest the second week of January · 199 checklists that week, 18,344 in all24%
  6. Kenosha CountyBest mid October · 177 checklists that week, 11,654 in all23%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. County Grounds ParkMilwaukee County, best early March · 20 checklists that week, 816 in all69%
  2. Lakeshore Preserve (North Shore Woods)Dane County, best early January · 25 checklists that week, 540 in all61%
  3. Richard Bong Recreation AreaKenosha County, best late February · 22 checklists that week, 602 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Red-tailed Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 6.0% of 27016 checklists6 am: 8.0% of 83973 checklists7 am: 9.4% of 160717 checklists8 am: 10% of 160531 checklists9 am: 11% of 136968 checklists10 am: 12% of 119110 checklists11 am: 13% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 13% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 13% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 12% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 11% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 9.3% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 7.7% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 5.7% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January12%12%12%12%
February13%12%12%13%
March14%14%13%11%
April12%11%11%10%
May10%9.4%8.7%8.1%
June7.3%6.6%6.1%6.4%
July6.5%7.2%8.3%8.6%
August9.8%9.3%9.5%9.8%
September10%9.9%9.3%10%
October11%12%13%12%
November13%11%12%12%
December10%12%14%12%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: year-round, peaks the second week of November
  • Iowa: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of November
  • Michigan: year-round, peaks early March
  • Minnesota: year-round, peaks late March

Common questions

When do Red-tailed Hawks arrive in Wisconsin?
The Red-tailed Hawk is in Wisconsin all year. It turns up on about 14% of checklists at its peak (early March) and on 6.3% in its quietest week (late June).
When do Red-tailed Hawks leave Wisconsin?
The Red-tailed Hawk does not leave Wisconsin: it is reported all year, from 6.3% of checklists in late June to 14% in early March.
When is the best time to see a Red-tailed Hawk in Wisconsin?
The Red-tailed Hawk is reported most often in early March, on about 14% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Red-tailed Hawks seen most often?
By county, Crawford County, Lafayette County, and Green County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-tailed Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).