WhenToBird

Sturnus vulgaris · Sturnidae

When Do European Starlings Arrive in North Dakota?

Adult female European Starling
Photo: egorbirder, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The European Starling is in North Dakota all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late March) and on 9.7% in its quietest week (the second week of August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 22-31late March
Quietest weekAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: late March. Here all year. Peak: on about 18% of North Dakota checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 14% of 1694 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 1210 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 1263 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 1984 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 1209 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 1307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 1655 checklistsFeb 22-28: 14% of 1619 checklistsMar 1-7: 16% of 1653 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 1818 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 2103 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 3714 checklistsApr 1-7: 18% of 2955 checklistsApr 8-14: 18% of 3550 checklistsApr 15-21: 16% of 4104 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 5712 checklistsMay 1-7: 17% of 5328 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 5885 checklistsMay 15-21: 18% of 5344 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 7512 checklistsJun 1-7: 17% of 4329 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 4287 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 3798 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 4361 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 2939 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 2407 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.6% of 2254 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.6% of 2852 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 2119 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 2044 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.5% of 2124 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 3168 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 2449 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 2310 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 2092 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 2565 checklistsOct 1-7: 19% of 2071 checklistsOct 8-14: 18% of 1918 checklistsOct 15-21: 18% of 1907 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 2589 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 1858 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 1753 checklistsNov 15-21: 15% of 1483 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 1928 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 1337 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 1309 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 1642 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 1830 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 North 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 North Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Traill CountyBest early January · 10 checklists that week, 764 in all87%
  2. Steele CountyBest the second week of June · 103 checklists that week, 6,291 in all63%
  3. Oliver CountyBest late May · 29 checklists that week, 776 in all44%
  4. Burleigh CountyBest late May · 562 checklists that week, 10,129 in all44%
  5. Morton CountyBest late September · 42 checklists that week, 3,404 in all43%
  6. Richland CountyBest early March · 12 checklists that week, 1,563 in all42%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. General Sibley ParkBurleigh County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 316 in all89%
  2. Sibley Nature ParkBurleigh County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 304 in all81%
  3. Oak ParkWard County, best late April · 47 checklists that week, 777 in all68%
  4. Pioneer ParkBurleigh County, best the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 154 in all58%
  5. Chahinkapa ParkRichland County, best mid May · 22 checklists that week, 200 in all54%

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

Best time of day

In North Dakota, the European Starling is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (29% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (74) to judge1 am: too few checklists (45) to judge2 am: too few checklists (42) to judge3 am: too few checklists (68) to judge4 am: too few checklists (274) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1538) to judge6 am: 31% of 4242 checklists7 am: 28% of 9520 checklists8 am: 20% of 13065 checklists9 am: 17% of 13356 checklists10 am: 14% of 12128 checklists11 am: 11% of 10772 checklists12 pm: 11% of 10316 checklists1 pm: 10% of 9169 checklists2 pm: 9.7% of 8880 checklists3 pm: 9.8% of 8688 checklists4 pm: 11% of 8201 checklists5 pm: 11% of 6687 checklists6 pm: 12% of 5455 checklists7 pm: 11% of 3926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2024) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (602) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (181) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (89) 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
January14%12%12%13%
February12%12%12%14%
March16%16%18%19%
April18%18%16%17%
May17%16%18%18%
June17%15%13%12%
July11%11%9.6%9.6%
August10%10%8.5%11%
September11%13%15%16%
October19%18%18%17%
November16%13%15%13%
December12%13%14%13%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do European Starlings arrive in North Dakota?
The European Starling is in North Dakota all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late March) and on 9.7% in its quietest week (the second week of August).
When do European Starlings leave North Dakota?
The European Starling does not leave North Dakota: it is reported all year, from 9.7% of checklists in the second week of August to 18% in late March.
When is the best time to see a European Starling in North Dakota?
The European Starling is reported most often in late March, on about 18% of North Dakota checklists.
Where in North Dakota are European Starlings seen most often?
By county, Traill County, Steele County, and Oliver County have the highest peak reporting rates for the European Starling (counties with at least 200 checklists).