WhenToBird

Circus hudsonius · Accipitridae

When Do Northern Harriers Arrive in Nebraska?

Northern Harriers are winter birds in Nebraska: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by the second week of September, peak in mid October (7.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common bySep 8-14the second week of September
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: mid October. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 7.2% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 3.7% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.9% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.5% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.1% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.1% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.6% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.0% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.9% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.7% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.5% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.2% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.5% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.7% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.4% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.3% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.7% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.4% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.7% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.0% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.9% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.9% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.0% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.3% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.4% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.7% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.2% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.9% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.4% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.6% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.4% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.3% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.4% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Phelps CountyBest the second week of October · 15 checklists that week, 836 in all51%
  2. Garden CountyBest the second week of December · 29 checklists that week, 1,392 in all47%
  3. Kearney CountyBest late October · 12 checklists that week, 1,140 in all41%
  4. Grant CountyBest the second week of October · 11 checklists that week, 388 in all29%
  5. Hamilton CountyBest early October · 18 checklists that week, 630 in all26%
  6. Clay CountyBest late October · 29 checklists that week, 1,432 in all25%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Phelps County Waterfowl Production AreaPhelps County, best late March · 35 checklists that week, 278 in all77%
  2. Prairie Dog Federal Waterfowl Production AreaKearney County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 172 in all56%
  3. Rowe SanctuaryBuffalo County, best early November · 25 checklists that week, 1,627 in all44%
  4. Little Salt Fork Marsh Site FeeLancaster County, best the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 181 in all43%
  5. Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance TrustHall County, best the second week of March · 37 checklists that week, 179 in all36%
  6. North Lake Basin Wildlife Management AreaSeward County, best the second week of April · 26 checklists that week, 438 in all35%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Northern Harrier is most often listed on checklists started between 3 and 5 pm (3.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%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: 3.5% of 6945 checklists7 am: 2.8% of 19066 checklists8 am: 2.9% of 24661 checklists9 am: 3.4% of 23438 checklists10 am: 3.3% of 20424 checklists11 am: 3.2% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 2.9% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 3.0% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 3.5% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 3.7% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 3.8% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 3.1% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 2.6% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 1.4% 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
January3.7%3.9%3.5%3.1%
February3.0%3.1%2.6%4.0%
March3.9%5.7%6.5%7.2%
April5.5%4.7%4.4%2.3%
May1.2%0.7%0.6%0.7%
June0.3%0.7%0.6%0.6%
July0.5%0.3%0.3%0.4%
August0.4%0.3%1.4%1.2%
September1.7%2.0%4.0%4.9%
October5.9%7.0%7.3%7.4%
November6.7%5.2%3.9%3.4%
December4.6%5.4%5.3%3.4%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives late August, 1 week later than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives the second week of February, 23 weeks later than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives early September, 2 weeks later than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives late September, 5 weeks later than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Northern Harriers arrive in Nebraska?
Northern Harriers are winter birds in Nebraska: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by the second week of September, peak in mid October (7.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Northern Harriers leave Nebraska?
Most Northern Harriers have left Nebraska by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early May.
When is the best time to see a Northern Harrier in Nebraska?
The Northern Harrier is reported most often in mid October, on about 7.2% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Northern Harriers seen most often?
By county, Phelps County, Garden County, and Kearney County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Harrier (counties with at least 200 checklists).