WhenToBird

Pica hudsonia · Corvidae

When Do Black-billed Magpies Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Black-billed Magpie
Photo: Mayela y Ramón, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-billed Magpies arrive in Nebraska in late August, peak in mid June (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 22-31late August
Common byAug 22-31late August
PeakJun 15-21mid June
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: mid June. First arrivals late August; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 1.1% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 1.2% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.3% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.1% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.1% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.8% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.1% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.2% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.8% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.8% 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. Morrill CountyBest late October · 15 checklists that week, 533 in all25%
  2. Dawes CountyBest late December · 19 checklists that week, 2,926 in all23%
  3. Sioux CountyBest mid October · 19 checklists that week, 2,408 in all21%
  4. Banner CountyBest late November · 11 checklists that week, 689 in all15%
  5. Scotts Bluff CountyBest the second week of October · 155 checklists that week, 7,688 in all13%
  6. Keith CountyBest early November · 36 checklists that week, 3,876 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Scotts Bluff National MonumentScotts Bluff County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 507 in all54%
  2. Lake MinatareScotts Bluff County, best late September · 29 checklists that week, 383 in all9.5%
  3. Ogallala LakeKeith County, best late September · 23 checklists that week, 748 in all5.3%
  4. Chadron State ParkDawes County, best late May · 45 checklists that week, 425 in all4.9%
  5. Fort Robinson State ParkDawes County, best mid May · 28 checklists that week, 125 in all4.8%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Black-billed Magpie is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.2% of 6945 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 19066 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 24661 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 23438 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 20424 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 0.1% 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
January1.2%0.3%0.8%0.5%
February0.5%0.5%0.2%0.5%
March0.7%0.3%0.3%0.3%
April0.3%0.4%0.5%0.3%
May0.3%0.3%0.5%0.8%
June0.8%1.1%1.2%0.9%
July0.5%0.5%0.4%0.3%
August0.3%0.2%0.4%0.2%
September0.4%0.3%0.8%0.8%
October1.1%1.0%0.8%0.8%
November0.7%1.1%0.8%1.1%
December0.7%1.2%0.8%0.8%

Neighboring states

  • South Dakota: arrives early May, 15 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • Minnesota: arrives late August, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Colorado: year-round, peaks early November
  • North Dakota: arrives early September, 1 week later than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Black-billed Magpies arrive in Nebraska?
Black-billed Magpies arrive in Nebraska in late August, peak in mid June (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Black-billed Magpies leave Nebraska?
Most Black-billed Magpies have left Nebraska by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-billed Magpie in Nebraska?
The Black-billed Magpie is reported most often in mid June, on about 1.1% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Black-billed Magpies seen most often?
By county, Morrill County, Dawes County, and Sioux County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-billed Magpie (counties with at least 200 checklists).