WhenToBird

Megaceryle alcyon · Alcedinidae

When Do Belted Kingfishers Arrive in Idaho?

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

Belted Kingfishers are in Idaho all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in mid November (14% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (early June) they are still on about 3.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 15-21mid August
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Fall back byFeb 1-7early February
FewestJun 1-7early June

Best: mid November. Here all year; numbers build from mid August and fall back by early February. Peak: on about 14% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  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: 12% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 11% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.5% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.5% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.0% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.8% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.5% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.3% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.0% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.8% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.5% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.8% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.8% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.3% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.5% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.1% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.7% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.1% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.8% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.7% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.8% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.5% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.4% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.1% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.5% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.4% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.6% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.2% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.1% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 10% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 7792 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 Idaho 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 Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gooding CountyBest early December · 34 checklists that week, 3,207 in all46%
  2. Bingham CountyBest late July · 34 checklists that week, 1,427 in all33%
  3. Lewis CountyBest late November · 14 checklists that week, 603 in all33%
  4. Fremont CountyBest the second week of September · 130 checklists that week, 5,201 in all31%
  5. Payette CountyBest the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 2,860 in all26%
  6. Madison CountyBest the second week of September · 80 checklists that week, 3,887 in all26%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clear LakeGooding County, best early January · 41 checklists that week, 174 in all76%
  2. Barber ParkAda County, best the second week of November · 22 checklists that week, 1,607 in all72%
  3. Barber PoolAda County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 1,099 in all68%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Belted Kingfisher is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (9.6% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 9.1% of 9122 checklists7 am: 9.2% of 22204 checklists8 am: 9.0% of 38672 checklists9 am: 9.7% of 38930 checklists10 am: 9.4% of 37338 checklists11 am: 7.9% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 8.3% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 8.7% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 8.7% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 8.5% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 7.7% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 6.1% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 5.8% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 5.0% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January12%11%11%11%
February8.5%8.5%8.0%8.8%
March8.5%7.3%8.0%7.8%
April6.5%5.8%6.8%6.3%
May5.5%5.1%4.7%4.1%
June3.8%3.7%4.8%4.5%
July5.4%5.1%5.5%6.4%
August8.6%9.2%8.1%10%
September10%13%12%11%
October11%12%13%13%
November13%14%13%14%
December13%13%12%12%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives the second week of July, 5 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives mid July, 4 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives mid July, 4 weeks earlier than Idaho

Common questions

When do Belted Kingfishers arrive in Idaho?
Belted Kingfishers are in Idaho all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in mid November (14% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (early June) they are still on about 3.9% of checklists.
When do Belted Kingfishers leave Idaho?
Belted Kingfishers never fully leave Idaho: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early February, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Belted Kingfisher in Idaho?
The Belted Kingfisher is reported most often in mid November, on about 14% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Belted Kingfishers seen most often?
By county, Gooding County, Bingham County, and Lewis County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Belted Kingfisher (counties with at least 200 checklists).