WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in South Dakota?

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

Red-breasted Nuthatches are in South Dakota all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of September (17% of checklists), and fall back by mid February. In the quietest week (mid April) they are still on about 5.8% of checklists.

When to look

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

Best: the second week of September. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of August and fall back by mid February. Peak: on about 17% of South Dakota checklists.

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

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 14% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 13% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 16% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.3% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.0% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.7% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.6% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.0% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.4% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.9% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.3% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.9% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.8% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.4% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 17% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 18% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 15% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 16% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 16% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% of 1514 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Roberts CountyBest the second week of December · 37 checklists that week, 3,523 in all56%
  2. Harding CountyBest late August · 14 checklists that week, 1,088 in all53%
  3. Custer CountyBest the second week of December · 12 checklists that week, 7,902 in all53%
  4. Lawrence CountyBest early December · 26 checklists that week, 3,847 in all45%
  5. Marshall CountyBest early January · 10 checklists that week, 760 in all42%
  6. Codington CountyBest mid January · 10 checklists that week, 1,303 in all42%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Black Elk WildernessCuster County, best early June · 25 checklists that week, 160 in all78%
  2. Mount Rushmore National MemorialPennington County, best the second week of September · 34 checklists that week, 735 in all66%
  3. Sylvan LakeCuster County, best late August · 23 checklists that week, 506 in all56%
  4. Jewel Cave National MonumentCuster County, best mid June · 21 checklists that week, 308 in all48%
  5. Bismark LakeCuster County, best the second week of June · 39 checklists that week, 282 in all44%
  6. Farm IslandHughes County, best late November · 23 checklists that week, 825 in all44%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (17% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (49) to judge1 am: too few checklists (44) to judge2 am: too few checklists (33) to judge3 am: too few checklists (59) to judge4 am: too few checklists (227) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1080) to judge6 am: 20% of 3387 checklists7 am: 16% of 7718 checklists8 am: 16% of 10342 checklists9 am: 14% of 10758 checklists10 am: 13% of 9123 checklists11 am: 11% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 10% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 9.2% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 9.0% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 8.7% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 8.9% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 7.2% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 6.6% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 4.3% of 3183 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (1499) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (329) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (82) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (42) 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
January14%12%13%14%
February12%16%12%11%
March11%9.3%11%6.0%
April7.7%5.6%5.0%6.4%
May5.9%8.3%6.9%9.8%
June13%12%12%12%
July11%12%13%10%
August11%9.4%16%16%
September17%18%17%16%
October14%14%15%15%
November13%13%15%18%
December16%16%14%18%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of August, in the same week than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of July, 4 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • Minnesota: arrives mid August, 1 week later than South Dakota
  • Iowa: arrives mid August, 1 week later than South Dakota

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in South Dakota?
Red-breasted Nuthatches are in South Dakota all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of September (17% of checklists), and fall back by mid February. In the quietest week (mid April) they are still on about 5.8% of checklists.
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave South Dakota?
Red-breasted Nuthatches never fully leave South Dakota: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid February, but some are still reported in every week, about 5.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in South Dakota?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 17% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Roberts County, Harding County, and Custer County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).