WhenToBird

Botaurus lentiginosus · Ardeidae

When Do American Bitterns Arrive in Kansas?

Adult American Bittern
Photo: Kathy Richardson, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

American Bitterns arrive in Kansas in early April, peak in late April (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of June.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: late April. First arrivals early April; most are gone by the second week of June. Peak: on about 1.0% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.8% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.4% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.4% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.4% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Stafford CountyBest the second week of May · 254 checklists that week, 6,839 in all11%
  2. Clay CountyBest mid September · 15 checklists that week, 663 in all11%
  3. Barton CountyBest early October · 40 checklists that week, 4,391 in all11%
  4. Neosho CountyBest mid April · 73 checklists that week, 2,366 in all6.5%
  5. Cloud CountyBest early October · 21 checklists that week, 586 in all5.7%
  6. Harper CountyBest the second week of November · 49 checklists that week, 946 in all3.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)Stafford County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 384 in all29%
  2. Baker University WetlandsDouglas County, best late April · 108 checklists that week, 1,611 in all28%
  3. Big Salt MarshStafford County, best late May · 37 checklists that week, 600 in all28%
  4. Baker University Wetlands (south)Douglas County, best mid April · 53 checklists that week, 1,405 in all27%
  5. Quivira National Wildlife RefugeStafford County, best mid September · 22 checklists that week, 1,247 in all25%
  6. Pool 1ABarton County, best early May · 30 checklists that week, 542 in all23%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the American Bittern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.9% of 12550 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 34128 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 45960 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 37806 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 32102 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 0.4% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%0.6%0.8%1.3%
May0.9%0.5%0.6%0.3%
June0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%
July0.2%0.2%0.1%0.3%
August0.3%0.2%0.4%0.4%
September0.4%0.3%0.3%0.4%
October0.4%0.4%0.5%0.5%
November0.7%0.4%0.4%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • South Dakota: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than Kansas
  • Wisconsin: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than Kansas
  • North Dakota: arrives early May, 4 weeks later than Kansas
  • Michigan: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than Kansas

Common questions

When do American Bitterns arrive in Kansas?
American Bitterns arrive in Kansas in early April, peak in late April (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of June.
When do American Bitterns leave Kansas?
Most American Bitterns have left Kansas by the second week of June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a American Bittern in Kansas?
The American Bittern is reported most often in late April, on about 1.0% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are American Bitterns seen most often?
By county, Stafford County, Clay County, and Barton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Bittern (counties with at least 200 checklists).