WhenToBird

Progne subis · Hirundinidae

When Do Purple Martins Arrive in Oklahoma?

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

Purple Martins reach Oklahoma in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in the second week of July (15% of checklists), and most are gone by late August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakJul 8-14the second week of July
Most gone byAug 22-31late August

Best: the second week of July. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by late August. Peak: on about 15% of Oklahoma checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  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 6087 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 4350 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 4381 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 6165 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 4259 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 4589 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 7001 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 4482 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 4724 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.4% of 4571 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.1% of 4393 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.4% of 7544 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.0% of 5967 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.2% of 6543 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.2% of 7366 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.3% of 10618 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.8% of 8835 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.8% of 8247 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.9% of 6081 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.2% of 7283 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.9% of 4256 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 3774 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 3541 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 4159 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 3209 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 2916 checklistsJul 15-21: 14% of 2861 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 4146 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 3043 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 2839 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.2% of 3014 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.7% of 4759 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.3% of 3861 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 3748 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 3569 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 4830 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 3809 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 4142 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 3705 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 4738 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 3823 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 3849 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 3722 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4795 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 3574 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3884 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 5774 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Marshall CountyBest late May · 36 checklists that week, 590 in all42%
  2. Hughes CountyBest mid April · 16 checklists that week, 494 in all36%
  3. Payne CountyBest the second week of July · 344 checklists that week, 29,283 in all35%
  4. Atoka CountyBest the second week of April · 13 checklists that week, 381 in all32%
  5. Kingfisher CountyBest mid July · 10 checklists that week, 389 in all31%
  6. Delaware CountyBest mid July · 26 checklists that week, 1,727 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Boomer Lake Park (Hazen Lake)Payne County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 597 in all96%
  2. Boomer Lake ParkPayne County, best the second week of July · 31 checklists that week, 3,723 in all94%
  3. Lake YaholaTulsa County, best mid August · 35 checklists that week, 1,291 in all78%
  4. South Lakes ParkCleveland County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 168 in all63%
  5. Lake Hefner (southeast)Oklahoma County, best late July · 25 checklists that week, 612 in all57%
  6. CLO LandsPayne County, best mid June · 26 checklists that week, 1,208 in all57%

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

Best time of day

In Oklahoma, the Purple Martin is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (8.5% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (91) to judge1 am: too few checklists (65) to judge2 am: too few checklists (73) to judge3 am: too few checklists (73) to judge4 am: too few checklists (100) to judge5 am: too few checklists (647) to judge6 am: 13% of 8353 checklists7 am: 6.9% of 24509 checklists8 am: 4.5% of 27848 checklists9 am: 3.4% of 25316 checklists10 am: 3.0% of 21161 checklists11 am: 2.8% of 18730 checklists12 pm: 2.5% of 16097 checklists1 pm: 2.4% of 14028 checklists2 pm: 2.4% of 13599 checklists3 pm: 2.3% of 14228 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 14597 checklists5 pm: 3.9% of 12125 checklists6 pm: 6.1% of 9337 checklists7 pm: 9.5% of 6944 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2403) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (459) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (226) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (141) 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%0.1%0.2%
March0.6%1.4%3.1%5.4%
April7.0%5.2%7.2%6.3%
May7.8%7.8%8.9%8.2%
June8.9%11%12%13%
July15%15%14%13%
August11%10%9.2%4.7%
September2.3%0.7%0.2%0.1%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives mid March, 1 week later than Oklahoma
  • Arkansas: arrives early March, 1 week earlier than Oklahoma
  • Missouri: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than Oklahoma
  • Nebraska: arrives early April, 3 weeks later than Oklahoma

Common questions

When do Purple Martins arrive in Oklahoma?
Purple Martins reach Oklahoma in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in the second week of July (15% of checklists), and most are gone by late August.
When do Purple Martins leave Oklahoma?
Most Purple Martins have left Oklahoma by late August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of September.
When is the best time to see a Purple Martin in Oklahoma?
The Purple Martin is reported most often in the second week of July, on about 15% of Oklahoma checklists.
Where in Oklahoma are Purple Martins seen most often?
By county, Marshall County, Hughes County, and Payne County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Purple Martin (counties with at least 200 checklists).