WhenToBird

Buteo lagopus · Accipitridae

When Do Rough-legged Hawks Arrive in Oregon?

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

Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in early November, peak in late January (2.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

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

Best: late January. First arrivals early November; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 2.1% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  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. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.9% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.8% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.3% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.9% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.5% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.5% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.3% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.2% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.7% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.9% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.8% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.9% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.6% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake CountyBest early January · 16 checklists that week, 13,301 in all30%
  2. Harney CountyBest late January · 223 checklists that week, 40,943 in all19%
  3. Grant CountyBest mid January · 36 checklists that week, 6,818 in all16%
  4. Crook CountyBest late January · 142 checklists that week, 9,466 in all14%
  5. Wallowa CountyBest the second week of December · 63 checklists that week, 9,170 in all14%
  6. Klamath CountyBest early December · 209 checklists that week, 26,875 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge Research Natural AreaBenton County, best late February · 53 checklists that week, 2,178 in all52%
  2. Broughton BeachMultnomah County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 248 in all50%
  3. Lower Klamath National Wildlife RefugeKlamath County, best mid February · 20 checklists that week, 331 in all49%
  4. Christmas Valley LakeLake County, best late March · 28 checklists that week, 612 in all44%
  5. William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge (northeast)Benton County, best early January · 31 checklists that week, 919 in all40%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Rough-legged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 11 am and 1 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 0.1% of 50677 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 125347 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 163668 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 160351 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 148940 checklists11 am: 1.1% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January1.9%1.8%2.3%2.1%
February1.9%1.5%1.7%1.5%
March1.3%1.1%0.9%0.8%
April0.5%0.2%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.2%0.4%0.8%
November1.2%1.7%1.6%1.9%
December1.9%1.8%1.9%1.6%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives late October, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives late October, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • Montana: arrives early October, 4 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Utah: arrives the second week of November, 1 week later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Rough-legged Hawks arrive in Oregon?
Rough-legged Hawks are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in early November, peak in late January (2.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Rough-legged Hawks leave Oregon?
Most Rough-legged Hawks have left Oregon by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rough-legged Hawk in Oregon?
The Rough-legged Hawk is reported most often in late January, on about 2.1% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Rough-legged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Lake County, Harney County, and Grant County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rough-legged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).