WhenToBird

Colaptes auratus · Picidae

When Do Northern Flickers Arrive in Kansas?

Adult male Northern Flicker
Photo: Ben, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Flickers are in Kansas all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid September, peak in the second week of October (46% of checklists), and fall back by early January. In the quietest week (the second week of August) they are still on about 8.1% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Fall back byJan 1-7early January
FewestAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: the second week of October. Here all year; numbers build from mid September and fall back by early January. Peak: on about 46% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 28% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 25% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 25% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 25% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 24% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 23% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 22% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 25% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 22% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 25% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 25% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 30% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 25% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 20% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 11% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 10% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.8% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.3% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.6% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.2% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.1% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.0% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.6% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.7% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.0% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.0% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.2% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.0% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.1% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 13% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 39% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 46% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 47% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 44% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 39% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 36% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 35% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 36% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 36% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 33% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 35% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 35% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 34% of 8186 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 Kansas 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 Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ottawa CountyBest mid November · 23 checklists that week, 523 in all80%
  2. Chautauqua CountyBest late November · 29 checklists that week, 723 in all79%
  3. Kingman CountyBest the second week of October · 31 checklists that week, 1,697 in all74%
  4. Comanche CountyBest late September · 16 checklists that week, 769 in all70%
  5. Pottawatomie CountyBest the second week of October · 146 checklists that week, 8,405 in all69%
  6. Allen CountyBest the second week of October · 25 checklists that week, 1,562 in all64%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Burcham ParkDouglas County, best early October · 34 checklists that week, 1,300 in all95%
  2. Felker ParkShawnee County, best mid September · 29 checklists that week, 988 in all92%
  3. Harvey County ParkHarvey County, best mid December · 30 checklists that week, 657 in all87%
  4. Oak ParkSedgwick County, best the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 1,240 in all86%
  5. Scott State ParkScott County, best late November · 24 checklists that week, 519 in all82%
  6. Kill Creek ParkJohnson County, best the second week of October · 37 checklists that week, 1,305 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Northern Flicker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (28% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 15% of 12550 checklists7 am: 27% of 34128 checklists8 am: 30% of 45960 checklists9 am: 26% of 37806 checklists10 am: 23% of 32102 checklists11 am: 20% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 19% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 19% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 20% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 20% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 19% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 16% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 12% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 7.3% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) 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
January28%25%25%25%
February24%23%22%25%
March22%25%25%30%
April25%20%14%13%
May11%10%9.8%9.3%
June8.6%9.2%9.1%9.0%
July10%9.6%8.7%9.0%
August8.0%8.2%8.0%9.1%
September13%15%22%39%
October46%47%44%39%
November36%35%36%36%
December33%35%35%34%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives late August, 3 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives late September, 1 week later than Kansas
  • Missouri: arrives mid September, in the same week than Kansas
  • Arkansas: arrives late September, 1 week later than Kansas

Common questions

When do Northern Flickers arrive in Kansas?
Northern Flickers are in Kansas all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid September, peak in the second week of October (46% of checklists), and fall back by early January. In the quietest week (the second week of August) they are still on about 8.1% of checklists.
When do Northern Flickers leave Kansas?
Northern Flickers never fully leave Kansas: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early January, but some are still reported in every week, about 8.1% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Northern Flicker in Kansas?
The Northern Flicker is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 46% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Northern Flickers seen most often?
By county, Ottawa County, Chautauqua County, and Kingman County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Flicker (counties with at least 200 checklists).