WhenToBird

Haliaeetus leucocephalus · Accipitridae

When Do Bald Eagles Arrive in Arkansas?

Adult Bald Eagle
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Bald Eagles are in Arkansas all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in mid November (10% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of February. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 2.0% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 1-7early October
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Fall back byFeb 8-14the second week of February
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: mid November. Here all year; numbers build from early October and fall back by the second week of February. Peak: on about 10% of Arkansas checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 10% of 5292 checklistsJan 8-14: 8.6% of 4085 checklistsJan 15-21: 9.0% of 4531 checklistsJan 22-31: 7.2% of 6500 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.5% of 4752 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.8% of 5385 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.4% of 7219 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.6% of 4163 checklistsMar 1-7: 7.2% of 3952 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.5% of 4067 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.4% of 4446 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.9% of 6911 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.0% of 5422 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.4% of 6043 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.8% of 6759 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.5% of 10236 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.6% of 8243 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.4% of 7467 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.7% of 6160 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.2% of 7287 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.3% of 4884 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 4444 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.0% of 3579 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.4% of 3858 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.3% of 3042 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.9% of 2889 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.4% of 2599 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.4% of 3825 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 2951 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.5% of 2765 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.3% of 2838 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.2% of 4360 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.0% of 3573 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.0% of 3314 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.1% of 3118 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.8% of 4381 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.1% of 3640 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.4% of 4119 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.9% of 3810 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.9% of 4956 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.8% of 3704 checklistsNov 8-14: 9.8% of 3678 checklistsNov 15-21: 10% of 3457 checklistsNov 22-30: 10% of 4648 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.4% of 3390 checklistsDec 8-14: 9.7% of 3510 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.9% of 4540 checklistsDec 22-31: 10% of 6404 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Franklin CountyBest mid February · 16 checklists that week, 1,315 in all41%
  2. Lafayette CountyBest late December · 14 checklists that week, 352 in all41%
  3. Mississippi CountyBest early February · 13 checklists that week, 726 in all37%
  4. Jackson CountyBest the second week of October · 14 checklists that week, 386 in all36%
  5. Clark CountyBest mid November · 34 checklists that week, 809 in all35%
  6. Crittenden CountyBest late January · 34 checklists that week, 1,136 in all34%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Giles PondScott County, best mid November · 36 checklists that week, 1,214 in all58%
  2. Siloam Springs LakeBenton County, best late November · 33 checklists that week, 678 in all53%
  3. Upper PondBenton County, best the second week of January · 23 checklists that week, 2,250 in all51%
  4. Arkansas Post National MemorialArkansas County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 461 in all48%
  5. Sunset LakeSaline County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 900 in all47%

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

Best time of day

In Arkansas, the Bald Eagle is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (7.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (98) to judge1 am: too few checklists (88) to judge2 am: too few checklists (95) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (145) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1455) to judge6 am: 5.8% of 10807 checklists7 am: 5.0% of 27761 checklists8 am: 5.1% of 30943 checklists9 am: 6.2% of 26975 checklists10 am: 7.2% of 21989 checklists11 am: 7.1% of 16828 checklists12 pm: 7.2% of 14069 checklists1 pm: 7.4% of 13145 checklists2 pm: 7.6% of 12780 checklists3 pm: 6.9% of 12723 checklists4 pm: 5.5% of 12500 checklists5 pm: 4.3% of 9576 checklists6 pm: 3.2% of 7182 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (4187) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (245) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (75) 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
January10%8.6%9.0%7.2%
February7.5%5.8%5.4%6.6%
March7.2%7.5%7.4%6.9%
April7.0%6.4%5.8%5.5%
May4.6%4.4%3.7%3.2%
June2.3%1.7%2.0%2.4%
July2.3%2.9%2.4%2.4%
August2.1%2.5%2.3%3.2%
September4.0%4.0%5.1%5.8%
October6.1%7.4%6.9%7.9%
November8.8%9.8%10%10%
December9.4%9.7%8.9%10%

Neighboring states

  • Missouri: arrives early November, 4 weeks later than Arkansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of August, 7 weeks earlier than Arkansas
  • Kansas: arrives the second week of November, 5 weeks later than Arkansas
  • Mississippi: arrives early July, 12 weeks earlier than Arkansas

Common questions

When do Bald Eagles arrive in Arkansas?
Bald Eagles are in Arkansas all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in mid November (10% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of February. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 2.0% of checklists.
When do Bald Eagles leave Arkansas?
Bald Eagles never fully leave Arkansas: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of February, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.0% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Bald Eagle in Arkansas?
The Bald Eagle is reported most often in mid November, on about 10% of Arkansas checklists.
Where in Arkansas are Bald Eagles seen most often?
By county, Franklin County, Lafayette County, and Mississippi County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Bald Eagle (counties with at least 200 checklists).