WhenToBird

Colaptes auratus · Picidae

When Do Northern Flickers Arrive in Nebraska?

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

Northern Flickers are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late August, peak in early October (43% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (early March) they are still on about 14% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 22-31late August
PeakOct 1-7early October
Fall back byOct 22-31late October
FewestMar 1-7early March

Best: early October. Here all year; numbers build from late August and fall back by late October. Peak: on about 43% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 18% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 17% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 17% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 16% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 14% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 14% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 35% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 36% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 33% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 28% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 26% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 23% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 21% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 21% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 19% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 19% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 22% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 22% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 26% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 26% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 24% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 24% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 24% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 24% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 30% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 33% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 37% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 40% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 46% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 42% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 40% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 33% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 29% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 27% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 24% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 26% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 22% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 26% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 26% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 24% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Madison CountyBest mid September · 20 checklists that week, 1,920 in all73%
  2. Sherman CountyBest the second week of July · 12 checklists that week, 399 in all73%
  3. Pawnee CountyBest late September · 11 checklists that week, 586 in all71%
  4. Frontier CountyBest late September · 19 checklists that week, 529 in all70%
  5. Merrick CountyBest early October · 18 checklists that week, 552 in all70%
  6. Hitchcock CountyBest late October · 16 checklists that week, 441 in all68%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Salt LakeLancaster County, best early October · 62 checklists that week, 2,553 in all87%
  2. Fontenelle Forest Association Local Resource Management AreaSarpy County, best mid April · 79 checklists that week, 1,623 in all84%
  3. Oliver Reservoir State Recreation AreaKimball County, best early September · 52 checklists that week, 597 in all83%
  4. Conestoga LakeLancaster County, best mid September · 26 checklists that week, 1,224 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Northern Flicker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (33% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 32% of 6945 checklists7 am: 33% of 19066 checklists8 am: 32% of 24661 checklists9 am: 30% of 23438 checklists10 am: 27% of 20424 checklists11 am: 23% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 22% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 21% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 21% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 20% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 20% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 22% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 22% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 17% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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
January18%17%17%17%
February15%16%16%14%
March14%15%16%24%
April35%36%33%28%
May26%23%21%21%
June19%19%22%22%
July26%26%24%24%
August24%24%24%30%
September33%37%40%46%
October42%40%33%29%
November27%24%26%24%
December22%26%26%24%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives mid September, 3 weeks later than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives mid June, 9 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives early September, 1 week later than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives mid September, 3 weeks later than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Northern Flickers arrive in Nebraska?
Northern Flickers are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late August, peak in early October (43% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (early March) they are still on about 14% of checklists.
When do Northern Flickers leave Nebraska?
Northern Flickers never fully leave Nebraska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late October, but some are still reported in every week, about 14% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Northern Flicker in Nebraska?
The Northern Flicker is reported most often in early October, on about 43% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Northern Flickers seen most often?
By county, Madison County, Sherman County, and Pawnee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Flicker (counties with at least 200 checklists).