WhenToBird

Buteo lagopus · Accipitridae

When Do Rough-legged Hawks Arrive in Nebraska?

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

Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in Nebraska: they arrive in mid November, peak in the second week of January (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 15-21mid November
Common byNov 15-21mid November
PeakJan 8-14the second week of January
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: the second week of January. First arrivals mid November; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 3.6% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 3.8% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.5% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.5% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.7% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.1% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.9% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.0% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.5% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.4% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.2% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 0% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.0% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.0% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.5% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.7% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.0% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.3% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.5% 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. Sioux CountyBest the second week of February · 10 checklists that week, 2,408 in all33%
  2. Burt CountyBest the second week of January · 21 checklists that week, 1,011 in all25%
  3. Cheyenne CountyBest the second week of January · 12 checklists that week, 766 in all25%
  4. Stanton CountyBest early February · 14 checklists that week, 835 in all24%
  5. Banner CountyBest the second week of December · 17 checklists that week, 689 in all24%
  6. Custer CountyBest mid January · 16 checklists that week, 848 in all21%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Summit LakeBurt County, best late December · 25 checklists that week, 312 in all31%
  2. Phelps County Waterfowl Production AreaPhelps County, best mid March · 29 checklists that week, 278 in all14%
  3. Prairie Dog Federal Waterfowl Production AreaKearney County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 172 in all10%
  4. Flanagan Lake & Recreation AreaDouglas County, best late December · 34 checklists that week, 1,089 in all9.0%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Rough-legged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 0.3% of 6945 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 19066 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 24661 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 23438 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 20424 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 1.1% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 1.1% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 0.1% 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
January3.8%3.5%3.5%2.7%
February3.0%2.1%1.7%1.9%
March2.0%1.5%1.4%1.2%
April0.3%0.3%0.2%0.1%
May0%0%0%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0%0%0%
October0%0.2%0.3%0.5%
November1.0%1.0%0.9%1.5%
December1.7%3.0%2.3%2.5%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives the second week of November, 1 week earlier than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives late October, 3 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives the second week of November, 1 week earlier than Nebraska
  • Minnesota: arrives mid October, 4 weeks earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Rough-legged Hawks arrive in Nebraska?
Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in Nebraska: they arrive in mid November, peak in the second week of January (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Rough-legged Hawks leave Nebraska?
Most Rough-legged Hawks have left Nebraska by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rough-legged Hawk in Nebraska?
The Rough-legged Hawk is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 3.6% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Rough-legged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Sioux County, Burt County, and Cheyenne County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rough-legged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).