WhenToBird

Accipiter striatus · Accipitridae

When Do Sharp-shinned Hawks Arrive in Kansas?

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

Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Kansas: they arrive in mid September, peak in late October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 22-31late October
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: late October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 3.3% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.5% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.7% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.4% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.2% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.9% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.0% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.6% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.7% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.6% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.4% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.9% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.7% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.0% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.3% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.5% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.1% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.9% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.5% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.6% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.4% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.9% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.9% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.6% of 8186 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 Kansas 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 Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Republic CountyBest early December · 10 checklists that week, 537 in all24%
  2. Grant CountyBest mid October · 14 checklists that week, 344 in all18%
  3. Washington CountyBest late November · 11 checklists that week, 277 in all18%
  4. Gove CountyBest late February · 14 checklists that week, 1,282 in all14%
  5. Pawnee CountyBest early February · 15 checklists that week, 515 in all14%
  6. Rice CountyBest early November · 11 checklists that week, 572 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Scott State ParkScott County, best mid November · 21 checklists that week, 519 in all21%
  2. Harvey County ParkHarvey County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 657 in all20%
  3. Baker University Wetlands (south)Douglas County, best late October · 27 checklists that week, 1,405 in all17%
  4. Shawnee MissionJohnson County, best mid October · 27 checklists that week, 2,038 in all17%
  5. Chisholm Creek ParkSedgwick County, best the second week of December · 41 checklists that week, 2,054 in all16%
  6. Cimarron National Grassland (east)Morton County, best late September · 27 checklists that week, 321 in all15%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (1.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 0.6% of 12550 checklists7 am: 1.5% of 34128 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 45960 checklists9 am: 1.6% of 37806 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 32102 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 1.1% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 1.3% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 1.3% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 1.3% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) 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
January2.5%2.7%2.4%2.2%
February1.9%2.0%1.6%1.7%
March1.6%1.4%1.3%1.5%
April1.0%1.0%0.9%0.8%
May0.4%0.1%0.1%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0.1%0%0.1%0%
August0%0%0%0.1%
September0.3%0.4%1.3%1.9%
October2.7%3.0%3.3%3.5%
November3.1%2.9%2.5%2.6%
December2.4%2.9%2.9%2.6%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of September, 1 week earlier than Kansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives mid September, in the same week than Kansas
  • Missouri: arrives mid September, in the same week than Kansas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid September, in the same week than Kansas

Common questions

When do Sharp-shinned Hawks arrive in Kansas?
Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Kansas: they arrive in mid September, peak in late October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Sharp-shinned Hawks leave Kansas?
Most Sharp-shinned Hawks have left Kansas by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early April.
When is the best time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Kansas?
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is reported most often in late October, on about 3.3% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Sharp-shinned Hawks seen most often?
By county, Republic County, Grant County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sharp-shinned Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).