WhenToBird

Buteo lagopus · Accipitridae

When Do Rough-legged Hawks Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Rough-legged Hawk
Photo: Rev. Lee A. Payne, Jr., CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Rough-legged Hawks arrive in Alaska in early April, peak in the second week of April (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals early April; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 1.3% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.2% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Aleutians East BoroughBest early May · 10 checklists that week, 1,634 in all14%
  2. Nome Census AreaBest the second week of September · 164 checklists that week, 13,472 in all11%
  3. Matanuska-Susitna BoroughBest the second week of April · 361 checklists that week, 23,028 in all11%
  4. Copper River Census AreaBest the second week of April · 28 checklists that week, 3,467 in all9.7%
  5. Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaBest early October · 16 checklists that week, 3,009 in all9.2%
  6. North Slope BoroughBest early May · 33 checklists that week, 10,891 in all6.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. State Patented (northwest)Matanuska-Susitna Borough, best mid April · 71 checklists that week, 122 in all81%
  2. Kittilngook BayNome Census Area, best the second week of September · 52 checklists that week, 838 in all32%
  3. Toolik Lake (east)North Slope Borough, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 103 in all9.3%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Rough-legged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 0.2% of 9751 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 17236 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 24936 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 30139 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 30866 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 0.3% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
February0.1%0.1%0%0%
March0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%1.0%2.2%0.8%
May0.2%0.3%0.2%0.4%
June0.8%0.6%0.5%0.4%
July0.3%0.3%0.3%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.2%0.4%
September1.0%0.7%0.6%0.7%
October0.8%0.6%0.4%0.1%
November0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives late October, 21 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Oregon: arrives early November, 20 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Idaho: arrives late October, 21 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives early October, 24 weeks earlier than Alaska

Common questions

When do Rough-legged Hawks arrive in Alaska?
Rough-legged Hawks arrive in Alaska in early April, peak in the second week of April (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Rough-legged Hawks leave Alaska?
Most Rough-legged Hawks have left Alaska by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rough-legged Hawk in Alaska?
The Rough-legged Hawk is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 1.3% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Rough-legged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Aleutians East Borough, Nome Census Area, and Matanuska-Susitna Borough have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rough-legged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).