WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in Kansas?

Adult male Red-winged Blackbird
Photo: infiniteuniverse, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Red-winged Blackbirds are in Kansas all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in mid April (45% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 9.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 1-7early March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Fall back byJul 15-21mid July
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: mid April. Here all year; numbers build from early March and fall back by mid July. Peak: on about 45% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 12% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 13% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 17% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 23% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 31% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 35% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 39% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 41% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 41% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 43% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 46% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 46% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 43% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 41% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 42% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 43% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 43% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 41% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 40% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 38% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 38% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 35% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 31% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 27% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 20% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 13% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.6% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.1% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 21% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 21% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 17% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% of 8186 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 Kansas 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 Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Stafford CountyBest the second week of June · 87 checklists that week, 6,839 in all80%
  2. Pratt CountyBest late April · 102 checklists that week, 1,637 in all79%
  3. Norton CountyBest early June · 13 checklists that week, 426 in all78%
  4. Gray CountyBest late June · 12 checklists that week, 483 in all73%
  5. Neosho CountyBest early July · 36 checklists that week, 2,366 in all72%
  6. Kiowa CountyBest late May · 66 checklists that week, 1,540 in all72%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Big Salt MarshStafford County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 600 in all100%
  2. Pracht Wetlands ParkSedgwick County, best the second week of July · 23 checklists that week, 848 in all100%
  3. Baker University Wetlands (south)Douglas County, best late June · 28 checklists that week, 1,405 in all98%
  4. Baker University WetlandsDouglas County, best late May · 112 checklists that week, 1,611 in all98%
  5. Dyck Arboretum of the PlainsHarvey County, best early May · 21 checklists that week, 983 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (36% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 39% of 12550 checklists7 am: 35% of 34128 checklists8 am: 34% of 45960 checklists9 am: 30% of 37806 checklists10 am: 26% of 32102 checklists11 am: 24% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 21% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 22% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 22% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 23% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 25% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 31% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 31% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 31% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) 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
January12%12%13%12%
February14%13%17%23%
March31%35%39%41%
April41%43%46%46%
May43%41%42%43%
June43%41%40%38%
July38%35%31%27%
August20%16%13%11%
September9.6%9.1%10%13%
October17%20%22%21%
November23%21%19%17%
December14%15%14%14%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives early March, in the same week than Kansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of February, 3 weeks earlier than Kansas
  • Missouri: arrives early March, in the same week than Kansas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid February, 2 weeks earlier than Kansas

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in Kansas?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in Kansas all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in mid April (45% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 9.7% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave Kansas?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave Kansas: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid July, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in Kansas?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in mid April, on about 45% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Stafford County, Pratt County, and Norton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).