WhenToBird

Picoides arcticus · Picidae

When Do Black-backed Woodpeckers Arrive in Minnesota?

Adult male Black-backed Woodpecker
Photo: sprcrkwild, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-backed Woodpeckers are winter birds in Minnesota: they arrive in early December, peak in early February (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early March.

When to look

First arrivalsDec 1-7early December
Common byDec 1-7early December
PeakFeb 1-7early February
Most gone byMar 1-7early March

Best: early February. First arrivals early December; most are gone by early March. Peak: on about 1.0% of Minnesota checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprrare
  5. Mayrare
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 20628 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 14594 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 14238 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.0% of 20725 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 14484 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.1% of 15988 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 20718 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 15754 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.5% of 16125 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 19035 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 19586 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 30192 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 24262 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 30223 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 29085 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 43574 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 39300 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 45927 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 36632 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 43809 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 23418 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 20450 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 19470 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 23418 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 19104 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 16927 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 15635 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 22073 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 16255 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 16840 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 17475 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 26545 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 20750 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 18494 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 18215 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 24463 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 18252 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 19527 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 17098 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 24570 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 16744 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 13483 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 12525 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 17023 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 11645 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 11567 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 13343 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 19759 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake of the Woods CountyBest early February · 14 checklists that week, 1,280 in all16%
  2. Roseau CountyBest late February · 20 checklists that week, 1,453 in all7.0%
  3. Koochiching CountyBest mid July · 44 checklists that week, 2,281 in all5.9%
  4. Lake CountyBest late February · 356 checklists that week, 19,908 in all5.9%
  5. Sherburne CountyBest late December · 159 checklists that week, 9,922 in all5.2%
  6. Pine CountyBest late January · 56 checklists that week, 6,923 in all5.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Finland State ForestLake County, best mid January · 22 checklists that week, 148 in all35%
  2. Pool 7Sherburne County, best late November · 29 checklists that week, 918 in all34%
  3. Miscellaneous (north)St. Louis County, best mid February · 21 checklists that week, 279 in all19%
  4. Stony PointSt. Louis County, best the second week of October · 49 checklists that week, 1,825 in all18%

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

Best time of day

In Minnesota, the Black-backed Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (0.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (349) to judge1 am: too few checklists (331) to judge2 am: too few checklists (286) to judge3 am: too few checklists (364) to judge4 am: too few checklists (863) to judge5 am: too few checklists (7598) to judge6 am: 0.2% of 35775 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 90565 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 110612 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 106128 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 96131 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 83750 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 76254 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 73480 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 73703 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 75249 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 68810 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 51899 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 38524 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 25120 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (10568) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2420) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (748) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (420) 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
January0.7%0.8%0.6%1.0%
February1.1%1.1%0.8%0.9%
March0.5%0.2%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.2%0.2%0.3%0.2%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%
October0.1%0.2%0.4%0.6%
November0.5%0.2%0.1%0.3%
December0.3%0.3%0.4%0.6%

Common questions

When do Black-backed Woodpeckers arrive in Minnesota?
Black-backed Woodpeckers are winter birds in Minnesota: they arrive in early December, peak in early February (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early March.
When do Black-backed Woodpeckers leave Minnesota?
Most Black-backed Woodpeckers have left Minnesota by early March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-backed Woodpecker in Minnesota?
The Black-backed Woodpecker is reported most often in early February, on about 1.0% of Minnesota checklists.
Where in Minnesota are Black-backed Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Lake of the Woods County, Roseau County, and Koochiching County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-backed Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).