WhenToBird

Progne subis · Hirundinidae

When Do Purple Martins Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult female Purple Martin
Photo: Ron Bondy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Purple Martins reach Nebraska in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late July (13% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone bySep 1-7early September

Best: late July. First arrivals early April; most are gone by early September. Peak: on about 13% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.2% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.9% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.8% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.1% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.9% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.3% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.8% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.0% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.9% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.6% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.9% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.2% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 7.9% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.2% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.1% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.9% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.6% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.0% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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. Wayne CountyBest the second week of July · 19 checklists that week, 1,960 in all48%
  2. Platte CountyBest early July · 10 checklists that week, 1,287 in all47%
  3. Lancaster CountyBest late July · 749 checklists that week, 44,392 in all26%
  4. Johnson CountyBest mid May · 32 checklists that week, 429 in all25%
  5. Cherry CountyBest mid July · 75 checklists that week, 3,940 in all25%
  6. Sarpy CountyBest late July · 273 checklists that week, 14,942 in all25%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Salt LakeLancaster County, best early August · 39 checklists that week, 2,553 in all92%
  2. Pioneers Park Nature CenterLancaster County, best the second week of May · 27 checklists that week, 456 in all67%
  3. Marsh WrenLancaster County, best early August · 44 checklists that week, 1,817 in all51%
  4. Prairie Queen Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late July · 37 checklists that week, 467 in all48%
  5. PioneersLancaster County, best early May · 34 checklists that week, 690 in all42%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Purple Martin is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (6.8% of those checklists).

0%5%10%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: 6.7% of 6945 checklists7 am: 4.7% of 19066 checklists8 am: 3.4% of 24661 checklists9 am: 2.7% of 23438 checklists10 am: 2.6% of 20424 checklists11 am: 2.2% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 2.2% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 2.0% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 1.8% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 1.9% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 2.3% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 3.4% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 5.9% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 8.0% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.5%
April2.2%2.9%4.8%5.1%
May5.9%5.3%4.8%5.0%
June4.9%4.6%4.9%6.2%
July7.9%11%12%13%
August12%11%7.2%6.1%
September3.9%2.6%1.0%0.3%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives mid March, 2 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives early April, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives the second week of March, 3 weeks earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Purple Martins arrive in Nebraska?
Purple Martins reach Nebraska in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late July (13% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.
When do Purple Martins leave Nebraska?
Most Purple Martins have left Nebraska by early September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid September.
When is the best time to see a Purple Martin in Nebraska?
The Purple Martin is reported most often in late July, on about 13% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Purple Martins seen most often?
By county, Wayne County, Platte County, and Lancaster County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Purple Martin (counties with at least 200 checklists).