WhenToBird

Aythya affinis · Anatidae

When Do Lesser Scaups Arrive in Alaska?

Adult male Lesser Scaup
Photo: Paul Lewis, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Lesser Scaups reach Alaska in late March, are common by mid April, peak in mid May (7.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byNov 8-14the second week of November

Best: mid May. First arrivals late March; most are gone by the second week of November. Peak: on about 7.4% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 1.2% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.2% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.8% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.2% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.6% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.1% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.0% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.1% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.9% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.8% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.5% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.1% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.1% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.5% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.5% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.6% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.8% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.0% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.6% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.8% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.1% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.7% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.1% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.3% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.1% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.7% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.0% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.3% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.4% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.5% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.4% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.1% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.2% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.1% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaBest late May · 227 checklists that week, 3,009 in all24%
  2. Fairbanks North Star BoroughBest mid May · 1695 checklists that week, 23,771 in all20%
  3. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest mid December · 31 checklists that week, 4,641 in all20%
  4. Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaBest early August · 38 checklists that week, 2,835 in all17%
  5. Copper River Census AreaBest late May · 215 checklists that week, 3,467 in all16%
  6. Anchorage MunicipalityBest early June · 3224 checklists that week, 65,703 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Yarger LakeSoutheast Fairbanks Census Area, best the second week of June · 21 checklists that week, 129 in all81%
  2. Chester Creek GreenbeltAnchorage Municipality, best the second week of June · 291 checklists that week, 4,339 in all64%
  3. Beluga Lake (west)Kenai Peninsula Borough, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 255 in all61%
  4. Hood LakeAnchorage Municipality, best early September · 28 checklists that week, 2,805 in all56%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Lesser Scaup is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 pm (4.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 3.9% of 9751 checklists7 am: 4.3% of 17236 checklists8 am: 3.6% of 24936 checklists9 am: 3.0% of 30139 checklists10 am: 2.9% of 30866 checklists11 am: 3.0% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 2.9% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 2.9% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 3.4% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 3.3% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 3.7% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 4.1% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 4.6% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 4.5% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 5.0% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January1.2%0.9%1.2%1.2%
February0.9%0.7%0.5%0.8%
March0.7%0.7%0.9%1.0%
April1.2%1.5%1.6%2.1%
May4.0%7.1%8.9%6.8%
June5.5%5.1%4.1%3.5%
July2.5%1.6%1.8%2.0%
August1.6%1.8%1.8%2.1%
September2.1%2.7%3.1%4.3%
October5.1%5.7%6.0%5.3%
November3.4%2.5%1.4%1.0%
December1.1%1.2%1.0%1.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives early October, 23 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Oregon: arrives late September, 24 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Idaho: arrives late August, 20 weeks later than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives late February, 4 weeks earlier than Alaska

Common questions

When do Lesser Scaups arrive in Alaska?
Lesser Scaups reach Alaska in late March, are common by mid April, peak in mid May (7.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.
When do Lesser Scaups leave Alaska?
Most Lesser Scaups have left Alaska by the second week of November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late January.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Scaup in Alaska?
The Lesser Scaup is reported most often in mid May, on about 7.4% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Lesser Scaups seen most often?
By county, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and Ketchikan Gateway Borough have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Scaup (counties with at least 200 checklists).