WhenToBird

Eremophila alpestris · Alaudidae

When Do Horned Larks Arrive in Iowa?

Adult Horned Lark
Photo: Laura Gaudette, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Horned Larks are winter birds in Iowa: they arrive in early October, peak in early February (3.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 1-7early October
Common byOct 1-7early October
PeakFeb 1-7early February
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: early February. First arrivals early October; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 3.9% of Iowa checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 3.2% of 5551 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.8% of 3498 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.8% of 3803 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.2% of 4807 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.2% of 3613 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.1% of 4173 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.6% of 5796 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.7% of 4394 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.1% of 5295 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.4% of 5679 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.7% of 5418 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.3% of 8613 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.8% of 6970 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 7511 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.6% of 8321 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.4% of 11976 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 11725 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 12626 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 9372 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 10330 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 5472 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.7% of 4568 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 3870 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 4780 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 4201 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.1% of 3605 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.1% of 3621 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.7% of 5093 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.7% of 3931 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.6% of 3488 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 3802 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 6293 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.8% of 5328 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 4622 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 4367 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 6086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 4708 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 4791 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.6% of 4429 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 5633 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.6% of 4090 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.0% of 3416 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.4% of 3398 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.1% of 4679 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.1% of 3442 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.7% of 3322 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.8% of 4619 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.4% of 5113 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 Iowa 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 Iowa

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Howard CountyBest the second week of July · 11 checklists that week, 334 in all36%
  2. Louisa CountyBest late January · 12 checklists that week, 1,639 in all35%
  3. Ringgold CountyBest early December · 18 checklists that week, 1,141 in all26%
  4. Cedar CountyBest late December · 11 checklists that week, 765 in all24%
  5. Keokuk CountyBest late October · 13 checklists that week, 243 in all19%
  6. Buchanan CountyBest the second week of August · 14 checklists that week, 2,265 in all18%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Coralville Lake (south)Johnson County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 134 in all50%
  2. Cone Marsh Wildlife Management AreaLouisa County, best mid February · 30 checklists that week, 1,002 in all39%
  3. Snyder Bend ParkWoodbury County, best the second week of March · 21 checklists that week, 300 in all38%
  4. Paul Errington Marsh Waterfowl Production AreaPolk County, best early March · 28 checklists that week, 512 in all33%
  5. Coralville Recreation Area (west)Johnson County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 329 in all32%

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

Best time of day

In Iowa, the Horned Lark is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (96) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (67) to judge3 am: too few checklists (82) to judge4 am: too few checklists (201) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1888) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 11313 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 25717 checklists8 am: 1.5% of 29755 checklists9 am: 2.0% of 28897 checklists10 am: 2.1% of 26343 checklists11 am: 1.8% of 21210 checklists12 pm: 1.8% of 17662 checklists1 pm: 1.8% of 16595 checklists2 pm: 1.8% of 16405 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 17030 checklists4 pm: 1.7% of 17378 checklists5 pm: 1.3% of 14251 checklists6 pm: 1.1% of 10349 checklists7 pm: 0.9% of 6233 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2002) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (392) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (186) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (87) 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
January3.2%2.8%3.8%4.2%
February3.2%4.1%3.6%3.7%
March3.1%3.4%2.7%2.3%
April1.8%1.5%1.6%1.4%
May0.7%0.8%0.5%0.8%
June0.9%0.7%0.9%0.9%
July0.8%1.1%1.1%1.7%
August1.7%1.6%1.3%1.0%
September0.8%0.5%0.3%0.6%
October0.9%0.9%1.6%0.9%
November1.6%1.0%1.4%1.1%
December2.1%1.7%1.8%2.4%

Neighboring states

  • Missouri: arrives early October, in the same week than Iowa
  • Wisconsin: arrives the second week of December, 9 weeks later than Iowa
  • Minnesota: arrives mid January, 14 weeks later than Iowa
  • Illinois: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than Iowa

Common questions

When do Horned Larks arrive in Iowa?
Horned Larks are winter birds in Iowa: they arrive in early October, peak in early February (3.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Horned Larks leave Iowa?
Most Horned Larks have left Iowa by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Horned Lark in Iowa?
The Horned Lark is reported most often in early February, on about 3.9% of Iowa checklists.
Where in Iowa are Horned Larks seen most often?
By county, Howard County, Louisa County, and Ringgold County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Horned Lark (counties with at least 200 checklists).