WhenToBird

Junco hyemalis · Passerellidae

When Do Dark-eyed Juncos Arrive in Minnesota?

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

Dark-eyed Juncos are winter birds in Minnesota: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by early October, peak in late October (47% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common byOct 1-7early October
PeakOct 22-31late October
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: late October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 47% of Minnesota checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 28% of 20628 checklistsJan 8-14: 27% of 14594 checklistsJan 15-21: 27% of 14238 checklistsJan 22-31: 25% of 20725 checklistsFeb 1-7: 25% of 14484 checklistsFeb 8-14: 25% of 15988 checklistsFeb 15-21: 28% of 20718 checklistsFeb 22-28: 23% of 15754 checklistsMar 1-7: 25% of 16125 checklistsMar 8-14: 28% of 19035 checklistsMar 15-21: 31% of 19586 checklistsMar 22-31: 35% of 30192 checklistsApr 1-7: 41% of 24262 checklistsApr 8-14: 39% of 30223 checklistsApr 15-21: 29% of 29085 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 43574 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.7% of 39300 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 45927 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.7% of 36632 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 43809 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 23418 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 20450 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 19470 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 23418 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 19104 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 16927 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 15635 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% 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: 0.2% of 26545 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 20750 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 18494 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.0% of 18215 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 24463 checklistsOct 1-7: 29% of 18252 checklistsOct 8-14: 41% of 19527 checklistsOct 15-21: 50% of 17098 checklistsOct 22-31: 48% of 24570 checklistsNov 1-7: 43% of 16744 checklistsNov 8-14: 42% of 13483 checklistsNov 15-21: 38% of 12525 checklistsNov 22-30: 34% of 17023 checklistsDec 1-7: 34% of 11645 checklistsDec 8-14: 35% of 11567 checklistsDec 15-21: 35% of 13343 checklistsDec 22-31: 31% 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. Red Lake CountyBest mid October · 11 checklists that week, 1,028 in all79%
  2. Todd CountyBest late October · 118 checklists that week, 4,802 in all78%
  3. Stevens CountyBest mid January · 15 checklists that week, 2,839 in all75%
  4. Le Sueur CountyBest late January · 74 checklists that week, 5,034 in all74%
  5. Benton CountyBest mid October · 123 checklists that week, 6,111 in all72%
  6. Wabasha CountyBest the second week of February · 116 checklists that week, 6,548 in all70%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kabekona LakeHubbard County, best mid October · 31 checklists that week, 1,402 in all98%
  2. Arden ParkHennepin County, best mid October · 25 checklists that week, 1,264 in all94%
  3. Environmental Nature AreaHennepin County, best late November · 39 checklists that week, 178 in all90%
  4. Carpenter St. Criox Valley Nature CenterWashington County, best mid December · 33 checklists that week, 2,734 in all89%
  5. Prairie LakeHennepin County, best mid October · 38 checklists that week, 1,833 in all87%

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

Best time of day

In Minnesota, the Dark-eyed Junco is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (23% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 11% of 35775 checklists7 am: 23% of 90565 checklists8 am: 23% of 110612 checklists9 am: 21% of 106128 checklists10 am: 19% of 96131 checklists11 am: 19% of 83750 checklists12 pm: 18% of 76254 checklists1 pm: 18% of 73480 checklists2 pm: 17% of 73703 checklists3 pm: 18% of 75249 checklists4 pm: 16% of 68810 checklists5 pm: 14% of 51899 checklists6 pm: 8.1% of 38524 checklists7 pm: 3.3% 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
January28%27%27%25%
February25%25%28%23%
March25%28%31%35%
April41%39%29%16%
May5.7%1.8%0.7%0.5%
June0.4%0.4%0.5%0.5%
July0.5%0.4%0.3%0.2%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
September0.3%0.9%3.0%13%
October29%41%50%48%
November43%42%38%34%
December34%35%35%31%

Neighboring states

  • Iowa: arrives early October, 2 weeks later than Minnesota
  • Wisconsin: arrives mid September, in the same week than Minnesota
  • South Dakota: arrives the second week of October, 3 weeks later than Minnesota
  • North Dakota: arrives mid September, in the same week than Minnesota

Common questions

When do Dark-eyed Juncos arrive in Minnesota?
Dark-eyed Juncos are winter birds in Minnesota: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by early October, peak in late October (47% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Dark-eyed Juncos leave Minnesota?
Most Dark-eyed Juncos have left Minnesota by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early May.
When is the best time to see a Dark-eyed Junco in Minnesota?
The Dark-eyed Junco is reported most often in late October, on about 47% of Minnesota checklists.
Where in Minnesota are Dark-eyed Juncos seen most often?
By county, Red Lake County, Todd County, and Stevens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Dark-eyed Junco (counties with at least 200 checklists).