WhenToBird

Poecile atricapillus · Paridae

When Do Black-capped Chickadees Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Black-capped Chickadee
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Black-capped Chickadee is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 1-7early September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: early September. Here all year. Peak: on about 25% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 24% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 24% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 23% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 23% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 23% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 23% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 24% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 18% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 16% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 21% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 22% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 18% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 14% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 15% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 23% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 26% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 26% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 20% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 19% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 19% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 20% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 21% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 22% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 19% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 21% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 21% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 24% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Otoe CountyBest mid December · 52 checklists that week, 3,856 in all85%
  2. Knox CountyBest late February · 10 checklists that week, 2,080 in all61%
  3. Dawes CountyBest the second week of September · 102 checklists that week, 2,926 in all55%
  4. Cass CountyBest late December · 68 checklists that week, 4,466 in all54%
  5. Dixon CountyBest early February · 32 checklists that week, 1,619 in all48%
  6. Keya Paha CountyBest late November · 22 checklists that week, 455 in all48%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tierra/BriarhurstLancaster County, best the second week of May · 21 checklists that week, 210 in all93%
  2. Pierce Milling Plant ReservoirCherry County, best early May · 24 checklists that week, 175 in all93%
  3. Wilderness Park (south)Lancaster County, best the second week of September · 40 checklists that week, 425 in all92%
  4. Schramm Park State Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 627 in all91%
  5. Chadron State ParkDawes County, best the second week of September · 40 checklists that week, 425 in all90%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Black-capped Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (26% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 24% of 6945 checklists7 am: 26% of 19066 checklists8 am: 24% of 24661 checklists9 am: 21% of 23438 checklists10 am: 19% of 20424 checklists11 am: 18% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 16% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 16% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 16% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 16% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 15% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 13% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 12% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 9.0% 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
January24%24%23%23%
February23%23%24%20%
March18%15%13%13%
April15%17%16%18%
May21%22%18%15%
June13%12%13%14%
July15%15%14%13%
August15%16%16%23%
September26%26%20%19%
October19%20%19%20%
November20%18%21%22%
December19%21%21%24%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks mid February
  • South Dakota: year-round, peaks the second week of February
  • Iowa: year-round, peaks the second week of September
  • Missouri: year-round, peaks mid December

Common questions

When do Black-capped Chickadees arrive in Nebraska?
The Black-capped Chickadee is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Black-capped Chickadees leave Nebraska?
The Black-capped Chickadee does not leave Nebraska: it is reported all year, from 13% of checklists in the second week of June to 25% in early September.
When is the best time to see a Black-capped Chickadee in Nebraska?
The Black-capped Chickadee is reported most often in early September, on about 25% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Black-capped Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Otoe County, Knox County, and Dawes County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-capped Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).