WhenToBird

Sayornis phoebe · Tyrannidae

When Do Eastern Phoebes Arrive in Kansas?

Adult Eastern Phoebe
Photo: Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Phoebes reach Kansas in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in early April (22% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 1-7early April
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: early April. First arrivals early March; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 22% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.5% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 19% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 22% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 20% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 19% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 21% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 21% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 22% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 21% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 20% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 18% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 19% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 19% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 19% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.8% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 13% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 16% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 18% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.0% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 8186 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 Kansas 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 Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Chautauqua CountyBest mid June · 10 checklists that week, 723 in all54%
  2. Kingman CountyBest mid May · 30 checklists that week, 1,697 in all48%
  3. Geary CountyBest early April · 17 checklists that week, 1,557 in all47%
  4. Washington CountyBest the second week of April · 11 checklists that week, 277 in all46%
  5. Allen CountyBest mid September · 16 checklists that week, 1,562 in all45%
  6. Marshall CountyBest early June · 12 checklists that week, 379 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Harvey County ParkHarvey County, best late March · 22 checklists that week, 657 in all78%
  2. Felker ParkShawnee County, best the second week of April · 27 checklists that week, 988 in all75%
  3. Big Shunga ParkShawnee County, best the second week of April · 25 checklists that week, 419 in all73%
  4. Burcham ParkDouglas County, best late March · 52 checklists that week, 1,300 in all72%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Eastern Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 24% of 12550 checklists7 am: 19% of 34128 checklists8 am: 16% of 45960 checklists9 am: 13% of 37806 checklists10 am: 11% of 32102 checklists11 am: 9.6% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 8.9% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 8.5% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 7.7% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 7.5% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 7.7% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 10% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 12% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 11% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.4%
March3.5%13%19%24%
April22%20%19%21%
May21%22%21%19%
June20%18%19%19%
July19%14%13%11%
August11%11%9.8%11%
September13%16%18%19%
October15%11%5.0%1.7%
November0.5%0.4%0.3%0.2%
December0.1%0.3%0.3%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than Kansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives early September, 24 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • Missouri: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Kansas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid September, 22 weeks earlier than Kansas

Common questions

When do Eastern Phoebes arrive in Kansas?
Eastern Phoebes reach Kansas in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in early April (22% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Eastern Phoebes leave Kansas?
Most Eastern Phoebes have left Kansas by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Phoebe in Kansas?
The Eastern Phoebe is reported most often in early April, on about 22% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Eastern Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Chautauqua County, Kingman County, and Geary County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).