WhenToBird

Corthylio calendula · Regulidae

When Do Ruby-crowned Kinglets Arrive in South Dakota?

Adult male Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are winter birds in South Dakota: the first arrive in the second week of August, they are common by the second week of September, peak in early October (12% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 8-14the second week of August
Common bySep 8-14the second week of September
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: early October. First arrivals the second week of August; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 12% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augrare
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.3% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.7% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.6% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.9% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 11% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.2% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.9% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.8% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.9% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.4% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.7% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.1% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.3% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.5% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.2% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.1% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.8% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.1% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.6% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.5% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.6% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.9% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.7% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.2% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Davison CountyBest the second week of October · 13 checklists that week, 606 in all39%
  2. Codington CountyBest the second week of October · 19 checklists that week, 1,303 in all38%
  3. Clay CountyBest late September · 55 checklists that week, 2,633 in all35%
  4. Union CountyBest early October · 19 checklists that week, 882 in all33%
  5. Day CountyBest late September · 13 checklists that week, 794 in all32%
  6. Hughes CountyBest the second week of October · 57 checklists that week, 3,765 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bramble ParkCodington County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 280 in all70%
  2. Sylvan LakeCuster County, best late May · 39 checklists that week, 506 in all63%
  3. Black Elk WildernessCuster County, best early June · 25 checklists that week, 160 in all62%
  4. Moccasin Creek ComplexBrown County, best the second week of May · 38 checklists that week, 209 in all53%
  5. State Recreation AreaLawrence County, best late May · 43 checklists that week, 500 in all49%
  6. ElmwoodMinnehaha County, best early May · 32 checklists that week, 291 in all48%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (5.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 6.3% of 3387 checklists7 am: 5.0% of 7718 checklists8 am: 5.7% of 10342 checklists9 am: 4.9% of 10758 checklists10 am: 4.1% of 9123 checklists11 am: 4.4% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 3.1% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 3.1% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 3.1% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 2.8% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 3.6% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 3.6% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 2.8% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 2.3% 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
January0%0%0%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0%0%
March0%0%0%0.2%
April1.3%3.7%6.6%9.9%
May11%8.2%4.9%4.8%
June5.9%5.4%4.7%5.1%
July3.3%2.5%2.2%1.1%
August0.7%0.9%1.8%1.1%
September2.6%4.5%8.6%11%
October14%12%7.9%3.7%
November1.1%0.4%0.1%0.2%
December0.4%0.5%0.2%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives early September, 3 weeks later than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives late August, 2 weeks later than South Dakota
  • Minnesota: arrives late March, 18 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • Iowa: arrives late August, 2 weeks later than South Dakota

Common questions

When do Ruby-crowned Kinglets arrive in South Dakota?
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are winter birds in South Dakota: the first arrive in the second week of August, they are common by the second week of September, peak in early October (12% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Ruby-crowned Kinglets leave South Dakota?
Most Ruby-crowned Kinglets have left South Dakota by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in South Dakota?
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is reported most often in early October, on about 12% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Ruby-crowned Kinglets seen most often?
By county, Davison County, Codington County, and Clay County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (counties with at least 200 checklists).