WhenToBird

Accipiter striatus · Accipitridae

When Do Sharp-shinned Hawks Arrive in California?

Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo: Kent P. McFarland, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in California: they arrive in mid September, peak in early November (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakNov 1-7early November
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: early November. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 2.6% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 2.2% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.2% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.2% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.0% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.0% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.9% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.9% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.9% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.8% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.7% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.8% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.6% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.5% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.4% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.3% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.5% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.3% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.4% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.5% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.7% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.6% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.5% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.5% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.3% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.4% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.7% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.4% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Modoc CountyBest the second week of October · 76 checklists that week, 6,138 in all20%
  2. Alpine CountyBest early November · 38 checklists that week, 6,013 in all11%
  3. Marin CountyBest early October · 3888 checklists that week, 135,728 in all8.5%
  4. Kings CountyBest late November · 87 checklists that week, 3,688 in all7.5%
  5. Glenn CountyBest the second week of October · 47 checklists that week, 5,189 in all7.1%
  6. Amador CountyBest the second week of February · 82 checklists that week, 4,733 in all6.7%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kirby CoveMarin County, best early October · 190 checklists that week, 1,041 in all88%
  2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Helmet Rock)San Francisco County, best late September · 82 checklists that week, 1,294 in all50%
  3. Grant Park (La Loma del Cruz)Ventura County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 151 in all48%
  4. Galileo ParkKern County, best late September · 37 checklists that week, 508 in all44%
  5. American River Parkway (west 2)Sacramento County, best late October · 26 checklists that week, 633 in all37%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (1.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 1.3% of 186053 checklists7 am: 1.8% of 444086 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 535846 checklists9 am: 1.6% of 486061 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 411130 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 1.4% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 1.2% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January2.2%2.2%2.2%2.0%
February2.0%1.9%1.7%1.9%
March1.9%1.8%1.7%1.8%
April1.6%1.5%1.2%0.8%
May0.4%0.3%0.2%0.2%
June0.2%0.1%0.1%0.2%
July0.1%0.1%0.2%0.2%
August0.2%0.3%0.3%0.4%
September0.5%0.7%1.4%2.3%
October2.5%2.3%2.4%2.5%
November2.7%2.6%2.5%2.5%
December2.3%2.4%2.7%2.4%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives late August, 3 weeks earlier than California
  • Utah: arrives the second week of August, 5 weeks earlier than California
  • Arizona: arrives the second week of September, 1 week earlier than California
  • Oregon: arrives mid August, 4 weeks earlier than California

Common questions

When do Sharp-shinned Hawks arrive in California?
Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in California: they arrive in mid September, peak in early November (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Sharp-shinned Hawks leave California?
Most Sharp-shinned Hawks have left California by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk in California?
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is reported most often in early November, on about 2.6% of California checklists.
Where in California are Sharp-shinned Hawks seen most often?
By county, Modoc County, Alpine County, and Marin County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sharp-shinned Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).