WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in Minnesota?

Adult Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photo: Joshua Liverman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red-breasted Nuthatches are in Minnesota all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in the second week of September (16% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (mid April) they are still on about 4.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 15-21mid August
PeakSep 8-14the second week of September
Fall back byFeb 22-28late February
FewestApr 15-21mid April

Best: the second week of September. Here all year; numbers build from mid August and fall back by late February. Peak: on about 16% of Minnesota checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 11% of 20628 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 14594 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 14238 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 20725 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 14484 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 15988 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 20718 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 15754 checklistsMar 1-7: 10% of 16125 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.4% of 19035 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.7% of 19586 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.8% of 30192 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.8% of 24262 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.6% of 30223 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.6% of 29085 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.3% of 43574 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.7% of 39300 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.3% of 45927 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.6% of 36632 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.9% of 43809 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.4% of 23418 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.4% of 20450 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.7% of 19470 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.8% of 23418 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.2% of 19104 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.9% of 16927 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.9% of 15635 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.2% of 22073 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.2% of 16255 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.8% of 16840 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 17475 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 26545 checklistsSep 1-7: 17% of 20750 checklistsSep 8-14: 16% of 18494 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 18215 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 24463 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 18252 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 19527 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 17098 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 24570 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 16744 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 13483 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 12525 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 17023 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 11645 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 11567 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 13343 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% of 19759 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hubbard CountyBest the second week of January · 51 checklists that week, 5,131 in all80%
  2. Clearwater CountyBest late December · 14 checklists that week, 2,315 in all64%
  3. Cass CountyBest mid December · 70 checklists that week, 10,555 in all53%
  4. Stevens CountyBest early January · 20 checklists that week, 2,839 in all52%
  5. Itasca CountyBest late December · 73 checklists that week, 6,805 in all52%
  6. Carlton CountyBest early March · 94 checklists that week, 8,150 in all51%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kabekona LakeHubbard County, best late January · 52 checklists that week, 1,402 in all100%
  2. Cedar Lake (Sandwick Lake)Itasca County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 209 in all97%
  3. Sugarloaf Point State Scientific and Natural AreaCook County, best late October · 33 checklists that week, 337 in all84%
  4. Lake Bemidji State ParkBeltrami County, best early September · 24 checklists that week, 617 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Minnesota, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (14% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (349) to judge1 am: too few checklists (331) to judge2 am: too few checklists (286) to judge3 am: too few checklists (364) to judge4 am: too few checklists (863) to judge5 am: too few checklists (7598) to judge6 am: 13% of 35775 checklists7 am: 14% of 90565 checklists8 am: 13% of 110612 checklists9 am: 11% of 106128 checklists10 am: 9.8% of 96131 checklists11 am: 8.9% of 83750 checklists12 pm: 8.3% of 76254 checklists1 pm: 7.6% of 73480 checklists2 pm: 7.0% of 73703 checklists3 pm: 6.8% of 75249 checklists4 pm: 6.5% of 68810 checklists5 pm: 5.2% of 51899 checklists6 pm: 4.4% of 38524 checklists7 pm: 3.2% of 25120 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (10568) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2420) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (748) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (420) 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
January11%12%12%13%
February15%14%14%13%
March10%7.4%5.7%4.8%
April4.8%4.6%4.6%4.3%
May4.7%6.3%6.6%6.9%
June5.4%5.4%5.7%5.8%
July6.2%5.9%5.9%7.2%
August8.2%8.8%10%15%
September17%16%15%14%
October14%11%10%12%
November12%12%11%12%
December11%12%12%14%

Neighboring states

  • Iowa: arrives mid August, in the same week than Minnesota
  • Wisconsin: arrives late August, 1 week later than Minnesota
  • South Dakota: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Minnesota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of July, 5 weeks earlier than Minnesota

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Minnesota?
Red-breasted Nuthatches are in Minnesota all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in the second week of September (16% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (mid April) they are still on about 4.5% of checklists.
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave Minnesota?
Red-breasted Nuthatches never fully leave Minnesota: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late February, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Minnesota?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 16% of Minnesota checklists.
Where in Minnesota are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Hubbard County, Clearwater County, and Cass County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).