WhenToBird

Junco hyemalis · Passerellidae

When Do Dark-eyed Juncos Arrive in Wisconsin?

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

Dark-eyed Juncos are winter birds in Wisconsin: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by early October, peak in early November (49% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common byOct 1-7early October
PeakNov 1-7early November
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: early November. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 49% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 41% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 43% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 44% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 43% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 42% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 44% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 45% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 36% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 34% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 33% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 34% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 38% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 41% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 37% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 29% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.9% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.2% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 10% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 22% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 37% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 46% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 50% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 49% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 48% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 44% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 43% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 45% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 45% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 47% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 45% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Crawford CountyBest early January · 61 checklists that week, 4,271 in all82%
  2. Taylor CountyBest mid October · 61 checklists that week, 4,326 in all81%
  3. La Crosse CountyBest late January · 284 checklists that week, 15,788 in all77%
  4. Washburn CountyBest mid October · 120 checklists that week, 7,099 in all77%
  5. Polk CountyBest late October · 378 checklists that week, 18,155 in all77%
  6. Vernon CountyBest late January · 322 checklists that week, 13,255 in all77%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Heckrodt Wetland PreserveWinnebago County, best late November · 67 checklists that week, 2,603 in all93%
  2. Duck CreekBrown County, best mid December · 55 checklists that week, 4,031 in all93%
  3. Whitnall ParkMilwaukee County, best the second week of January · 64 checklists that week, 6,089 in all92%
  4. Havenwoods Forest Preserve and Nature CenterMilwaukee County, best early November · 26 checklists that week, 1,148 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Dark-eyed Junco is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (28% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 3.4% of 27016 checklists6 am: 15% of 83973 checklists7 am: 29% of 160717 checklists8 am: 27% of 160531 checklists9 am: 24% of 136968 checklists10 am: 22% of 119110 checklists11 am: 21% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 22% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 22% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 21% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 21% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 17% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 12% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 6.4% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January41%43%44%43%
February42%44%45%36%
March34%33%34%38%
April41%37%29%16%
May4.9%1.1%0.4%0.2%
June0.1%0.1%0.2%0.2%
July0.3%0.3%0.2%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.2%0.7%3.2%10%
October22%37%46%50%
November49%48%44%43%
December45%45%47%45%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives late September, 1 week later than Wisconsin
  • Iowa: arrives early October, 2 weeks later than Wisconsin
  • Michigan: arrives late September, 1 week later than Wisconsin
  • Minnesota: arrives mid September, in the same week than Wisconsin

Common questions

When do Dark-eyed Juncos arrive in Wisconsin?
Dark-eyed Juncos are winter birds in Wisconsin: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by early October, peak in early November (49% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Dark-eyed Juncos leave Wisconsin?
Most Dark-eyed Juncos have left Wisconsin by mid 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 Wisconsin?
The Dark-eyed Junco is reported most often in early November, on about 49% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Dark-eyed Juncos seen most often?
By county, Crawford County, Taylor County, and La Crosse County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Dark-eyed Junco (counties with at least 200 checklists).