WhenToBird

Buteo lagopus · Accipitridae

When Do Rough-legged Hawks Arrive in New York?

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

Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in New York: they arrive in mid November, peak in early February (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 15-21mid November
Common byNov 15-21mid November
PeakFeb 1-7early February
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: early February. First arrivals mid November; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 1.2% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.9% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.1% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.3% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.1% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.1% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.5% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% of 62470 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 New York 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest late February · 321 checklists that week, 15,060 in all17%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest early January · 651 checklists that week, 26,171 in all17%
  3. Cattaraugus CountyBest the second week of December · 118 checklists that week, 12,342 in all11%
  4. Chenango CountyBest mid January · 112 checklists that week, 10,785 in all7.3%
  5. Orange CountyBest late January · 2008 checklists that week, 74,227 in all5.6%
  6. Oswego CountyBest the second week of March · 864 checklists that week, 39,208 in all5.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington County Grasslands (north)Washington County, best the second week of February · 22 checklists that week, 264 in all42%
  2. Washington County GrasslandsWashington County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 502 in all39%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Rough-legged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 0.1% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.2% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January0.9%1.0%1.1%1.3%
February1.1%1.1%0.8%1.0%
March1.1%0.8%0.6%0.5%
April0.3%0.2%0.2%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0%0.1%0%0%
July0.1%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0.1%
September0%0%0%0%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.2%0.4%0.4%0.5%
December0.5%0.6%0.5%0.7%

Neighboring states

  • Vermont: arrives the second week of November, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Ohio: arrives the second week of November, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Michigan: arrives late October, 3 weeks earlier than New York
  • Indiana: arrives the second week of November, 1 week earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Rough-legged Hawks arrive in New York?
Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in New York: they arrive in mid November, peak in early February (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Rough-legged Hawks leave New York?
Most Rough-legged Hawks have left New York by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rough-legged Hawk in New York?
The Rough-legged Hawk is reported most often in early February, on about 1.2% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Rough-legged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Jefferson County, and Cattaraugus County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rough-legged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).