WhenToBird

Melanerpes carolinus · Picidae

When Do Red-bellied Woodpeckers Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult male Red-bellied Woodpecker
Photo: froggymum, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early September, peak in mid December (27% of checklists), and fall back by early March. In the quietest week (late July) they are still on about 9.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 1-7early September
PeakDec 15-21mid December
Fall back byMar 1-7early March
FewestJul 22-31late July

Best: mid December. Here all year; numbers build from early September and fall back by early March. Peak: on about 27% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 25% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 25% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 24% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 24% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 22% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 24% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 25% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 21% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 20% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 17% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 18% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 21% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 22% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 27% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 28% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 24% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.7% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.2% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.6% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.3% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 17% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 21% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 23% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 23% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 26% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 24% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 22% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 23% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 24% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 25% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 27% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 28% 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. Otoe CountyBest early December · 57 checklists that week, 3,856 in all68%
  2. Pawnee CountyBest late September · 11 checklists that week, 586 in all65%
  3. Nemaha CountyBest late September · 13 checklists that week, 883 in all65%
  4. Jefferson CountyBest early November · 17 checklists that week, 804 in all64%
  5. Nuckolls CountyBest mid January · 11 checklists that week, 590 in all61%
  6. Saline CountyBest late December · 29 checklists that week, 724 in all60%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wilderness Park (Haines Branch)Lancaster County, best early May · 32 checklists that week, 309 in all95%
  2. Wilderness Park (Cardwell Branch)Lancaster County, best early May · 34 checklists that week, 189 in all95%
  3. Fontenelle Forest Association Local Resource Management Area (Old Home Creek)Sarpy County, best mid September · 27 checklists that week, 1,592 in all93%
  4. Towl ParkDouglas County, best mid April · 65 checklists that week, 1,437 in all90%
  5. Wilderness ParkLancaster County, best late April · 39 checklists that week, 465 in all90%
  6. Wilderness Park (Beal Slough)Lancaster County, best early May · 28 checklists that week, 217 in all89%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (27% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 23% of 6945 checklists7 am: 27% of 19066 checklists8 am: 28% of 24661 checklists9 am: 25% of 23438 checklists10 am: 22% of 20424 checklists11 am: 20% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 19% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 18% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 17% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 17% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 16% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 15% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 14% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 9.9% 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
January25%25%24%24%
February22%24%25%21%
March20%17%16%15%
April18%19%21%22%
May27%28%24%18%
June15%14%12%12%
July12%10%9.7%9.2%
August9.6%11%9.3%17%
September21%23%22%23%
October23%26%22%23%
November24%22%23%24%
December24%25%27%28%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks early October
  • South Dakota: arrives early October, 4 weeks later than Nebraska
  • Iowa: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Missouri: year-round, peaks early October

Common questions

When do Red-bellied Woodpeckers arrive in Nebraska?
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are in Nebraska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early September, peak in mid December (27% of checklists), and fall back by early March. In the quietest week (late July) they are still on about 9.5% of checklists.
When do Red-bellied Woodpeckers leave Nebraska?
Red-bellied Woodpeckers never fully leave Nebraska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early March, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-bellied Woodpecker in Nebraska?
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is reported most often in mid December, on about 27% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Red-bellied Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Otoe County, Pawnee County, and Nemaha County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-bellied Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).