WhenToBird

Gavia immer · Gaviidae

When Do Common Loons Arrive in South Dakota?

Adult Common Loon
Photo: Hungry-Sarracenia Photo, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Common Loons are winter birds in South Dakota: they arrive in early October, peak in early November (3.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late November.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 1-7early October
Common byOct 1-7early October
PeakNov 1-7early November
Most gone byNov 22-30late November

Best: early November. First arrivals early October; most are gone by late November. Peak: on about 3.7% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.5% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.0% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.0% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.7% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.5% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.6% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.9% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.7% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.5% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.9% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 1514 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sully CountyBest early November · 28 checklists that week, 632 in all51%
  2. Stanley CountyBest mid April · 72 checklists that week, 2,615 in all28%
  3. Gregory CountyBest early April · 12 checklists that week, 472 in all22%
  4. Hughes CountyBest mid April · 111 checklists that week, 3,765 in all20%
  5. Butte CountyBest late October · 19 checklists that week, 987 in all19%
  6. Marshall CountyBest mid October · 16 checklists that week, 760 in all18%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cow Creek Recreation AreaSully County, best late October · 23 checklists that week, 140 in all76%
  2. Oahe Downstream Recreation AreaStanley County, best late April · 31 checklists that week, 509 in all58%
  3. Oaha Recreation AreaStanley County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 247 in all19%
  4. Farm IslandHughes County, best mid April · 25 checklists that week, 825 in all5.6%
  5. Yankton UnitYankton County, best late May · 44 checklists that week, 760 in all3.3%
  6. Bismark LakeCuster County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 282 in all3.0%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Common Loon is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (49) to judge1 am: too few checklists (44) to judge2 am: too few checklists (33) to judge3 am: too few checklists (59) to judge4 am: too few checklists (227) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1080) to judge6 am: 0.3% of 3387 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 7718 checklists8 am: 1.3% of 10342 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 10758 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 9123 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 0.8% of 3183 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (1499) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (329) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (82) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (42) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0.1%0%0.6%
April1.5%3.0%4.0%3.7%
May1.5%0.6%0.6%0.6%
June0.4%0.2%0.4%0.4%
July0.3%0.3%0.5%0.9%
August0.3%0.4%0.3%0.2%
September0.3%0.2%0.1%0.2%
October0.6%1.0%1.9%3.7%
November3.5%3.9%1.6%0.6%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives early October, in the same week than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of September, 3 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • Minnesota: arrives late March, 23 weeks later than South Dakota
  • Iowa: arrives the second week of October, 1 week later than South Dakota

Common questions

When do Common Loons arrive in South Dakota?
Common Loons are winter birds in South Dakota: they arrive in early October, peak in early November (3.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late November.
When do Common Loons leave South Dakota?
Most Common Loons have left South Dakota by late November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Loon in South Dakota?
The Common Loon is reported most often in early November, on about 3.7% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Common Loons seen most often?
By county, Sully County, Stanley County, and Gregory County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Loon (counties with at least 200 checklists).