WhenToBird

Haliaeetus leucocephalus · Accipitridae

When Do Bald Eagles Arrive in Nebraska?

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

Bald Eagles are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in late December (18% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 3.3% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildNov 8-14the second week of November
PeakDec 22-31late December
Fall back byApr 8-14the second week of April
FewestJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: late December. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of November and fall back by the second week of April. Peak: on about 18% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 18% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 15% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 17% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 17% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 15% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 10% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 11% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.5% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.3% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.3% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.4% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.7% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.9% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.4% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.8% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.0% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.1% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.7% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.0% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.6% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.1% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.2% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.8% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.2% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.9% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.8% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.8% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.7% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.7% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.9% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.0% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.9% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 10% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 16% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 18% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cedar CountyBest early January · 71 checklists that week, 1,691 in all86%
  2. Gosper CountyBest the second week of February · 13 checklists that week, 483 in all76%
  3. Keith CountyBest early February · 39 checklists that week, 3,876 in all66%
  4. Harlan CountyBest late February · 11 checklists that week, 1,276 in all59%
  5. Platte CountyBest early December · 13 checklists that week, 1,287 in all57%
  6. Dawson CountyBest late December · 16 checklists that week, 750 in all54%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ogallala LakeKeith County, best late January · 25 checklists that week, 748 in all96%
  2. Downstream Day Use Area'sCedar County, best early January · 26 checklists that week, 302 in all95%
  3. Pawnee LakeLancaster County, best the second week of February · 29 checklists that week, 1,270 in all76%
  4. Flanagan Lake & Recreation AreaDouglas County, best late April · 53 checklists that week, 1,089 in all73%
  5. Branched Oak State Recreation AreaLancaster County, best early March · 28 checklists that week, 1,199 in all72%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Bald Eagle is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 9.2% of 6945 checklists7 am: 8.5% of 19066 checklists8 am: 8.7% of 24661 checklists9 am: 9.6% of 23438 checklists10 am: 11% of 20424 checklists11 am: 11% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 11% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 11% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 11% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 11% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 9.8% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 7.8% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 7.1% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 4.9% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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
January18%15%14%14%
February15%13%14%17%
March17%17%15%13%
April12%10%11%9.5%
May7.3%5.3%5.4%4.7%
June3.9%3.4%3.8%4.0%
July3.1%3.7%3.0%3.6%
August4.1%4.2%3.8%5.2%
September5.9%5.8%6.8%7.7%
October7.7%9.9%8.0%8.9%
November10%13%14%14%
December16%17%18%18%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives the second week of November, in the same week than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives early November, 1 week earlier than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives the second week of November, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives early November, 1 week earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Bald Eagles arrive in Nebraska?
Bald Eagles are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in late December (18% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 3.3% of checklists.
When do Bald Eagles leave Nebraska?
Bald Eagles never fully leave Nebraska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of April, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.3% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Bald Eagle in Nebraska?
The Bald Eagle is reported most often in late December, on about 18% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Bald Eagles seen most often?
By county, Cedar County, Gosper County, and Keith County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Bald Eagle (counties with at least 200 checklists).