WhenToBird

Megaceryle alcyon · Alcedinidae

When Do Belted Kingfishers Arrive in Alaska?

Adult female Belted Kingfisher
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Belted Kingfishers are in Alaska all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late July, peak in late August (14% of checklists), and fall back by late November. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 4.1% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJul 22-31late July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Fall back byNov 22-30late November
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: late August. Here all year; numbers build from late July and fall back by late November. Peak: on about 14% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 5.1% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.3% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.0% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.2% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.8% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.1% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 4.2% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.9% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.4% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.7% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.0% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.5% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.4% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.5% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.8% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.4% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.4% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.9% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.7% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.8% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.6% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.6% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.5% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.1% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.2% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.1% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.5% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 13% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 13% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 11% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.9% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.7% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 10% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.3% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.4% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 9.1% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.3% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.7% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.1% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 6.4% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hoonah-Angoon Census AreaBest mid October · 66 checklists that week, 8,159 in all39%
  2. Lake and Peninsula BoroughBest the second week of September · 16 checklists that week, 1,172 in all38%
  3. Prince of Wales-Hyder Census AreaBest late September · 45 checklists that week, 2,822 in all37%
  4. Kodiak Island BoroughBest late October · 265 checklists that week, 11,483 in all37%
  5. Yakutat City and BoroughBest late August · 12 checklists that week, 545 in all35%
  6. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest the second week of October · 65 checklists that week, 4,641 in all35%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Starrigavan BaySitka City and Borough, best the second week of September · 22 checklists that week, 883 in all65%
  2. Watch PointKenai Peninsula Borough, best mid April · 25 checklists that week, 703 in all65%
  3. HoonahHoonah-Angoon Census Area, best late August · 25 checklists that week, 468 in all63%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Belted Kingfisher is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (9.5% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 8.6% of 9751 checklists7 am: 8.8% of 17236 checklists8 am: 9.7% of 24936 checklists9 am: 9.3% of 30139 checklists10 am: 8.5% of 30866 checklists11 am: 7.5% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 7.6% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 7.2% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 6.8% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 6.2% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 6.0% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 6.5% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 6.0% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 5.5% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 4.4% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January5.1%5.3%5.0%5.2%
February4.8%4.1%4.2%3.9%
March4.4%4.7%6.0%7.5%
April7.4%8.5%8.8%6.4%
May6.4%5.9%6.7%5.8%
June4.6%4.6%4.5%5.1%
July6.2%7.1%8.5%11%
August13%12%13%14%
September14%11%9.9%9.7%
October10%9.3%10%12%
November11%11%9.4%9.1%
December8.3%7.7%7.1%6.4%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than Alaska
  • Oregon: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than Alaska
  • Idaho: arrives mid August, 3 weeks later than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives the second week of August, 2 weeks later than Alaska

Common questions

When do Belted Kingfishers arrive in Alaska?
Belted Kingfishers are in Alaska all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late July, peak in late August (14% of checklists), and fall back by late November. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 4.1% of checklists.
When do Belted Kingfishers leave Alaska?
Belted Kingfishers never fully leave Alaska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late November, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.1% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Belted Kingfisher in Alaska?
The Belted Kingfisher is reported most often in late August, on about 14% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Belted Kingfishers seen most often?
By county, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Lake and Peninsula Borough, and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area have the highest peak reporting rates for the Belted Kingfisher (counties with at least 200 checklists).