WhenToBird

Cardinalis cardinalis · Cardinalidae

When Do Northern Cardinals Arrive in South Dakota?

Adult male Northern Cardinal
Photo: Michael, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Northern Cardinal is in South Dakota all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (the second week of May) and on 8.0% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

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

Best: the second week of May. Here all year. Peak: on about 19% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 10% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 14% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 16% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 14% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 15% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 19% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 20% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.2% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.9% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.3% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.7% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.0% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.5% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.9% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.2% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.0% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.6% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.4% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.1% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 14% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 15% of 1514 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 South 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in South Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clay CountyBest the second week of December · 10 checklists that week, 2,633 in all77%
  2. Hughes CountyBest late August · 86 checklists that week, 3,765 in all61%
  3. Union CountyBest late July · 20 checklists that week, 882 in all58%
  4. Lincoln CountyBest mid July · 31 checklists that week, 2,721 in all55%
  5. Minnehaha CountyBest late May · 409 checklists that week, 9,402 in all49%
  6. Davison CountyBest late November · 10 checklists that week, 606 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Farm IslandHughes County, best mid March · 24 checklists that week, 825 in all94%
  2. PerryMinnehaha County, best mid May · 28 checklists that week, 215 in all87%
  3. Newton Hills (Sargeant Creek)Lincoln County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 173 in all86%
  4. ElmwoodMinnehaha County, best early May · 32 checklists that week, 291 in all77%
  5. Blood Run National Historic Landmark Area Tcf TractLincoln County, best early May · 29 checklists that week, 646 in all75%
  6. SertomaMinnehaha County, best mid May · 52 checklists that week, 764 in all74%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Northern Cardinal is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (49) to judge1 am: too few checklists (44) to judge2 am: too few checklists (33) to judge3 am: too few checklists (59) to judge4 am: too few checklists (227) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1080) to judge6 am: 17% of 3387 checklists7 am: 15% of 7718 checklists8 am: 21% of 10342 checklists9 am: 19% of 10758 checklists10 am: 13% of 9123 checklists11 am: 11% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 9.5% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 11% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 7.8% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 7.8% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 9.5% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 9.9% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 9.4% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 9.0% of 3183 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (1499) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (329) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (82) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (42) 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
January10%14%14%12%
February14%15%15%16%
March16%16%16%14%
April14%15%14%16%
May19%19%20%14%
June8.2%7.9%8.3%7.7%
July9.0%10%8.5%12%
August11%10%10%12%
September9.9%8.2%9.0%8.6%
October9.4%9.1%10%13%
November14%12%12%14%
December15%14%14%15%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: year-round, peaks early May
  • North Dakota: summer visitor, peaks the second week of May
  • Minnesota: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Iowa: year-round, peaks the second week of May

Common questions

When do Northern Cardinals arrive in South Dakota?
The Northern Cardinal is in South Dakota all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (the second week of May) and on 8.0% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Northern Cardinals leave South Dakota?
The Northern Cardinal does not leave South Dakota: it is reported all year, from 8.0% of checklists in mid June to 19% in the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Northern Cardinal in South Dakota?
The Northern Cardinal is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 19% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Northern Cardinals seen most often?
By county, Clay County, Hughes County, and Union County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Cardinal (counties with at least 200 checklists).