Mergus serrator · Anatidae

Red-breasted Merganser: When and Where to See It

Photo: Peter Chen 2.0, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Red-breasted Merganser reaches Alaska first, around mid September, and District of Columbia last, around late December.

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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Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Pooled across every state in the data, so it leans toward states with the most birders.

States, in order of first arrivals

State	Pattern	First arrivals	Peak	Most gone by	Peak %
Montana	Summer visitor	Feb 22-28	Apr 8-14	May 22-31	4.6%
Utah	Summer visitor	Feb 22-28	Apr 8-14	May 15-21	4.2%
Minnesota	Summer visitor	Mar 8-14	Apr 8-14	May 22-31	6.0%
Michigan	Summer visitor	Sep 22-30	Apr 1-7	May 22-31	7.9%
Wisconsin	Summer visitor	Oct 15-21	Apr 1-7	May 8-14	9.6%
Idaho	Summer visitor	Oct 15-21	Apr 8-14	May 8-14	3.3%
South Dakota	Summer visitor	Nov 8-14	Apr 8-14	Apr 22-30	2.4%
Wyoming	Winter visitor	Oct 1-7	Nov 8-14	Dec 8-14	2.9%
Maine	Winter visitor	Oct 8-14	Jan 15-21	Apr 15-21	18%
Massachusetts	Winter visitor	Oct 8-14	Jan 22-31	Apr 22-30	16%
Washington	Winter visitor	Oct 8-14	Jan 15-21	Apr 22-30	11%
Rhode Island	Winter visitor	Oct 15-21	Mar 1-7	Apr 15-21	28%
New York	Winter visitor	Oct 15-21	Jan 22-31	Apr 15-21	12%
New Hampshire	Winter visitor	Oct 15-21	Jan 1-7	Mar 22-31	7.7%
North Dakota	Winter visitor	Oct 15-21	Nov 8-14	May 1-7	2.6%
Vermont	Winter visitor	Oct 15-21	Nov 1-7	Apr 22-30	1.7%
Illinois	Winter visitor	Oct 22-31	Mar 15-21	Apr 15-21	16%
Connecticut	Winter visitor	Oct 22-31	Jan 22-31	Apr 8-14	15%
Ohio	Winter visitor	Oct 22-31	Mar 22-31	Apr 22-30	11%
Colorado	Winter visitor	Oct 22-31	Nov 8-14	Apr 15-21	2.7%
Oregon	Winter visitor	Oct 22-31	Nov 15-21	May 1-7	2.1%
New Jersey	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Jan 22-31	Apr 8-14	11%
Indiana	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Mar 15-21	Apr 15-21	6.5%
California	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Dec 1-7	Apr 1-7	3.4%
Kansas	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Nov 15-21	Apr 8-14	2.7%
Nebraska	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Nov 8-14	Dec 15-21	2.9%
Oklahoma	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Jan 8-14	Mar 22-31	4.9%
Pennsylvania	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Mar 22-31	May 8-14	3.6%
Arkansas	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Nov 22-30	Feb 1-7	1.1%
Missouri	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Nov 22-30	Feb 1-7	2.2%
Nevada	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Jan 8-14	Apr 1-7	1.8%
Tennessee	Winter visitor	Nov 1-7	Dec 1-7	Apr 8-14	1.9%
Delaware	Winter visitor	Nov 8-14	Jan 15-21	Apr 8-14	8.3%
Mississippi	Winter visitor	Nov 8-14	Jan 8-14	Apr 1-7	7.5%
Georgia	Winter visitor	Nov 8-14	Dec 8-14	Apr 15-21	1.2%
Kentucky	Winter visitor	Nov 8-14	Nov 22-30	Apr 22-30	2.0%
Alabama	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Dec 15-21	Apr 22-30	3.0%
Florida	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Dec 15-21	Apr 15-21	3.6%
Maryland	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Mar 8-14	Apr 8-14	3.7%
North Carolina	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Mar 1-7	Apr 1-7	2.8%
South Carolina	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Mar 8-14	Apr 15-21	3.1%
Virginia	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Jan 22-31	Apr 15-21	4.4%
Louisiana	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Jan 15-21	Mar 22-31	1.2%
Texas	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Dec 22-31	Apr 8-14	1.7%
West Virginia	Winter visitor	Nov 15-21	Mar 22-31	Apr 22-30	2.1%
District of Columbia	Winter visitor	Dec 22-31	Mar 8-14	Apr 15-21	2.6%
Iowa	Winter visitor	Feb 22-28	Mar 22-31	Apr 22-30	6.6%
Alaska	Winter visitor	Sep 15-21	Feb 1-7	Jun 8-14	13%

Winter visitor in: Iowa

Summer visitor in: Montana, Utah, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Idaho, South Dakota