WhenToBird

Leuconotopicus villosus · Picidae

When Do Hairy Woodpeckers Arrive in Wisconsin?

Adult male Hairy Woodpecker
Photo: yongestation, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Hairy Woodpecker is in Wisconsin all year. It turns up on about 27% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 14% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 15-21mid September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: mid September. Here all year. Peak: on about 27% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 23% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 25% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 25% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 26% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 26% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 27% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 26% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 23% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 21% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 18% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 19% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 20% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 20% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 17% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 17% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 19% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 22% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 26% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 28% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 27% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 26% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 25% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 24% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 23% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 24% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 25% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 25% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 26% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 26% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 26% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 25% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 26% 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.

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Where in Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Taylor CountyBest the second week of December · 31 checklists that week, 4,326 in all90%
  2. Iron CountyBest early February · 58 checklists that week, 5,981 in all85%
  3. Price CountyBest the second week of January · 60 checklists that week, 5,795 in all78%
  4. Langlade CountyBest late February · 63 checklists that week, 5,023 in all76%
  5. Florence CountyBest late January · 158 checklists that week, 10,179 in all76%
  6. Crawford CountyBest mid January · 49 checklists that week, 4,271 in all69%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fischer LakeFlorence County, best the second week of November · 57 checklists that week, 2,931 in all100%
  2. Statenaker LakeVilas County, best the second week of November · 24 checklists that week, 2,030 in all96%
  3. Red Cedar State TrailDunn County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 444 in all88%
  4. Henry Mueller Family ConservancySheboygan County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 199 in all80%
  5. Hoyt ParkDane County, best the second week of September · 47 checklists that week, 1,260 in all76%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Hairy Woodpecker 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 (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: 23% of 27016 checklists6 am: 27% of 83973 checklists7 am: 30% of 160717 checklists8 am: 26% of 160531 checklists9 am: 21% of 136968 checklists10 am: 19% of 119110 checklists11 am: 17% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 17% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 17% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 18% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 17% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 16% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 16% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 14% 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
January23%25%25%26%
February26%27%26%23%
March21%18%18%18%
April19%19%18%18%
May20%20%19%17%
June14%14%14%15%
July16%15%15%16%
August17%17%19%22%
September26%28%27%26%
October25%24%23%23%
November24%25%25%26%
December26%26%25%26%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: year-round, peaks mid December
  • Iowa: year-round, peaks mid December
  • Michigan: year-round, peaks mid December
  • Minnesota: year-round, peaks mid December

Common questions

When do Hairy Woodpeckers arrive in Wisconsin?
The Hairy Woodpecker is in Wisconsin all year. It turns up on about 27% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 14% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Hairy Woodpeckers leave Wisconsin?
The Hairy Woodpecker does not leave Wisconsin: it is reported all year, from 14% of checklists in the second week of June to 27% in mid September.
When is the best time to see a Hairy Woodpecker in Wisconsin?
The Hairy Woodpecker is reported most often in mid September, on about 27% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Hairy Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Taylor County, Iron County, and Price County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Hairy Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).