WhenToBird

Accipiter striatus · Accipitridae

When Do Sharp-shinned Hawks Arrive in Oregon?

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

Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in mid August, peak in early October (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: early October. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 3.0% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  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%4%Jan 1-7: 2.2% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.0% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.0% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.9% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.9% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.7% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.5% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.4% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.4% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.3% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.3% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.4% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.7% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.8% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.6% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.9% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.5% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.8% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.3% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.9% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.5% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.5% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.3% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.4% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.3% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.2% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.3% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.6% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.5% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.3% 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. Hood River CountyBest late September · 347 checklists that week, 9,695 in all21%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest early October · 289 checklists that week, 11,014 in all12%
  3. Morrow CountyBest early December · 19 checklists that week, 3,484 in all9.4%
  4. Columbia CountyBest mid December · 390 checklists that week, 27,750 in all9.4%
  5. Malheur CountyBest the second week of February · 20 checklists that week, 4,699 in all8.5%
  6. Grant CountyBest mid February · 54 checklists that week, 6,818 in all8.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Deschutes National Forest (north)Jefferson County, best early October · 38 checklists that week, 107 in all81%
  2. White River Segment BHood River County, best the second week of October · 64 checklists that week, 411 in all69%
  3. Whiskey SpringJefferson County, best late August · 25 checklists that week, 435 in all44%
  4. Williams CanyonHarney County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 834 in all26%
  5. McNary Wildlife Nature AreaUmatilla County, best late January · 54 checklists that week, 1,514 in all26%
  6. Sherrard PointMultnomah County, best the second week of October · 157 checklists that week, 1,135 in all25%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, 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 (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: 1.2% of 50677 checklists7 am: 1.8% of 125347 checklists8 am: 1.9% of 163668 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 160351 checklists10 am: 1.7% of 148940 checklists11 am: 1.7% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 1.6% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 1.5% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 1.5% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.7% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.4% 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
January2.2%2.0%2.0%1.9%
February1.9%1.7%1.5%1.4%
March1.4%1.3%1.3%1.3%
April1.3%1.5%1.4%1.2%
May1.0%0.9%0.7%0.5%
June0.4%0.4%0.4%0.4%
July0.5%0.4%0.5%0.5%
August0.8%0.9%1.1%1.2%
September1.6%1.9%2.5%2.8%
October3.3%2.9%2.5%2.5%
November2.3%2.4%2.3%2.2%
December2.3%2.6%2.5%2.3%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid August, in the same week than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid August, in the same week than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives late August, 1 week later than Oregon
  • California: arrives mid September, 4 weeks later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Sharp-shinned Hawks arrive in Oregon?
Sharp-shinned Hawks are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in mid August, peak in early October (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Sharp-shinned Hawks leave Oregon?
Most Sharp-shinned Hawks have left Oregon by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Oregon?
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is reported most often in early October, on about 3.0% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Sharp-shinned Hawks seen most often?
By county, Hood River County, Jefferson County, and Morrow County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sharp-shinned Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).