WhenToBird

Junco hyemalis · Passerellidae

When Do Dark-eyed Juncos Arrive in Alaska?

Adult male Dark-eyed Junco
Photo: Jimmy Dee, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Dark-eyed Juncos are in Alaska all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in the second week of May (33% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 13% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Fall back byJul 15-21mid July
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: the second week of May. Here all year; numbers build from late April and fall back by mid July. Peak: on about 33% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 19% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 15% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 14% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 14% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 18% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 26% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 31% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 34% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 35% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 29% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 23% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 26% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 28% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 29% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 27% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 26% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 22% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 23% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 23% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 26% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 28% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 25% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 24% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 16% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 20% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 19% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 20% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 19% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 20% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 20% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest early April · 84 checklists that week, 4,641 in all67%
  2. Fairbanks North Star BoroughBest late August · 801 checklists that week, 23,771 in all61%
  3. Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaBest the second week of May · 66 checklists that week, 3,009 in all58%
  4. Dillingham Census AreaBest late May · 70 checklists that week, 1,426 in all56%
  5. Denali BoroughBest early May · 59 checklists that week, 6,287 in all55%
  6. Matanuska-Susitna BoroughBest the second week of May · 808 checklists that week, 23,028 in all53%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dredge LakeJuneau City and Borough, best mid May · 77 checklists that week, 1,027 in all90%
  2. Tolch RockJuneau City and Borough, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 432 in all89%
  3. Kincaid ParkAnchorage Municipality, best the second week of May · 23 checklists that week, 853 in all88%
  4. Radenbough CoveKetchikan Gateway Borough, best late March · 21 checklists that week, 790 in all87%
  5. Headquarters LakeKenai Peninsula Borough, best early July · 29 checklists that week, 298 in all87%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Dark-eyed Junco is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (40% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 42% of 9751 checklists7 am: 39% of 17236 checklists8 am: 36% of 24936 checklists9 am: 30% of 30139 checklists10 am: 25% of 30866 checklists11 am: 22% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 21% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 19% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 17% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 16% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 16% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 17% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 17% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 17% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 14% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January19%17%15%15%
February15%14%12%14%
March14%13%13%15%
April18%17%18%26%
May31%34%35%29%
June23%26%28%29%
July27%26%23%22%
August23%23%26%28%
September25%24%19%17%
October14%14%14%16%
November18%18%20%19%
December20%19%20%20%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks the second week of March
  • Oregon: arrives the second week of October, 22 weeks later than Alaska
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of October, 22 weeks later than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives late February, 8 weeks earlier than Alaska

Common questions

When do Dark-eyed Juncos arrive in Alaska?
Dark-eyed Juncos are in Alaska all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in the second week of May (33% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 13% of checklists.
When do Dark-eyed Juncos leave Alaska?
Dark-eyed Juncos never fully leave Alaska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid July, but some are still reported in every week, about 13% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Dark-eyed Junco in Alaska?
The Dark-eyed Junco is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 33% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Dark-eyed Juncos seen most often?
By county, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and Southeast Fairbanks Census Area have the highest peak reporting rates for the Dark-eyed Junco (counties with at least 200 checklists).