WhenToBird

Accipiter striatus · Accipitridae

When Do Sharp-shinned Hawks Arrive in Idaho?

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

Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Idaho: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by early September, peak in mid December (6.1% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common bySep 1-7early September
PeakDec 15-21mid December
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: mid December. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 6.1% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  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%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 6.1% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.4% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.2% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.3% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.7% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.4% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 4.1% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.7% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.7% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.5% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.5% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.5% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.1% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.0% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.2% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.4% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.0% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.5% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.7% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.7% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.3% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.6% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.7% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.2% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.9% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.0% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.8% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.4% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.5% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.1% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.6% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.7% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.8% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 6.2% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.9% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 6.4% of 7792 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 Idaho 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 Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Butte CountyBest mid February · 16 checklists that week, 1,276 in all23%
  2. Power CountyBest early January · 47 checklists that week, 2,278 in all17%
  3. Jefferson CountyBest late September · 106 checklists that week, 5,319 in all16%
  4. Bannock CountyBest late December · 120 checklists that week, 8,210 in all16%
  5. Jerome CountyBest late December · 12 checklists that week, 804 in all15%
  6. Elmore CountyBest early December · 39 checklists that week, 6,239 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Boise River Wildlife Management AreaAda County, best late September · 76 checklists that week, 733 in all63%
  2. Camas National Wildlife RefugeJefferson County, best mid September · 30 checklists that week, 540 in all31%
  3. Tammany CreekNez Perce County, best mid January · 20 checklists that week, 546 in all30%
  4. Mason CreekCanyon County, best mid November · 39 checklists that week, 1,694 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (3.6% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 1.4% of 9122 checklists7 am: 2.6% of 22204 checklists8 am: 3.3% of 38672 checklists9 am: 3.8% of 38930 checklists10 am: 3.4% of 37338 checklists11 am: 3.1% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 2.9% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 3.2% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 3.0% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 3.3% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 3.0% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 2.2% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 0.9% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January6.1%5.4%5.2%5.3%
February4.7%4.4%4.1%4.7%
March3.7%3.5%2.5%2.5%
April2.1%2.0%2.2%2.4%
May2.0%1.5%0.9%1.0%
June0.6%0.6%0.5%0.4%
July0.4%0.5%0.7%0.7%
August0.6%0.7%1.1%1.7%
September3.3%4.6%4.7%5.2%
October4.9%4.0%3.8%4.4%
November4.5%5.1%4.6%5.7%
December5.8%6.2%5.9%6.4%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives mid August, in the same week than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives mid August, in the same week than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives mid August, in the same week than Idaho

Common questions

When do Sharp-shinned Hawks arrive in Idaho?
Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Idaho: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by early September, peak in mid December (6.1% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Sharp-shinned Hawks leave Idaho?
Most Sharp-shinned Hawks have left Idaho by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid May.
When is the best time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Idaho?
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is reported most often in mid December, on about 6.1% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Sharp-shinned Hawks seen most often?
By county, Butte County, Power County, and Jefferson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sharp-shinned Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).