WhenToBird

Piranga olivacea · Cardinalidae

When Do Scarlet Tanagers Arrive in Iowa?

Adult Scarlet Tanager
Photo: Shirley Zundell, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Scarlet Tanagers reach Iowa in late April, are common by early May, peak in mid May (11% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: mid May. First arrivals late April; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 11% of Iowa checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 5551 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 3498 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 3803 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 4807 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 3613 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 4173 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 5796 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 4394 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 5295 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 5679 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 5418 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 8613 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 6970 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 7511 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 8321 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 11976 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.6% of 11725 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.9% of 12626 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 9372 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 10330 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.2% of 5472 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.5% of 4568 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.7% of 3870 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.8% of 4780 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.6% of 4201 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.7% of 3605 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.7% of 3621 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.0% of 5093 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 3931 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.4% of 3488 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.0% of 3802 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.3% of 6293 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.0% of 5328 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.0% of 4622 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.5% of 4367 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.4% of 6086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.6% of 4708 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 4791 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 4429 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 5633 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 4090 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 3416 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 3398 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4679 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3442 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 3322 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 4619 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 5113 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 Iowa 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 Iowa

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hancock CountyBest late June · 12 checklists that week, 449 in all33%
  2. Jones CountyBest the second week of June · 12 checklists that week, 541 in all32%
  3. Clayton CountyBest late May · 62 checklists that week, 1,181 in all31%
  4. Allamakee CountyBest the second week of July · 48 checklists that week, 2,607 in all31%
  5. Benton CountyBest late May · 42 checklists that week, 1,453 in all30%
  6. Monroe CountyBest early June · 16 checklists that week, 257 in all29%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Coralville Lake (southeast)Johnson County, best late May · 27 checklists that week, 553 in all78%
  2. Hanging Rock Ridge Wildlife Management AreaJohnson County, best the second week of May · 34 checklists that week, 149 in all66%
  3. Grammer Grove Wildlife AreaMarshall County, best late May · 39 checklists that week, 766 in all65%
  4. MacBride Recreation AreaJohnson County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 445 in all64%
  5. Kuehn Conservation AreaDallas County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 219 in all61%
  6. Wildcat Den State ParkMuscatine County, best mid May · 28 checklists that week, 395 in all60%

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

Best time of day

In Iowa, the Scarlet Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (5.1% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (96) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (67) to judge3 am: too few checklists (82) to judge4 am: too few checklists (201) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1888) to judge6 am: 8.2% of 11313 checklists7 am: 3.8% of 25717 checklists8 am: 3.3% of 29755 checklists9 am: 2.7% of 28897 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 26343 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 21210 checklists12 pm: 1.7% of 17662 checklists1 pm: 1.8% of 16595 checklists2 pm: 1.5% of 16405 checklists3 pm: 1.5% of 17030 checklists4 pm: 1.5% of 17378 checklists5 pm: 1.6% of 14251 checklists6 pm: 1.9% of 10349 checklists7 pm: 2.0% of 6233 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2002) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (392) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (186) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (87) 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%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0.1%0.4%
May4.6%9.9%13%11%
June5.2%5.5%5.7%5.8%
July4.6%4.7%4.7%3.0%
August2.1%1.4%2.0%2.3%
September3.0%4.0%3.5%1.4%
October0.6%0.1%0.1%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Missouri: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Iowa
  • Wisconsin: arrives early May, 1 week later than Iowa
  • Minnesota: arrives early May, 1 week later than Iowa
  • Illinois: arrives late April, in the same week than Iowa

Common questions

When do Scarlet Tanagers arrive in Iowa?
Scarlet Tanagers reach Iowa in late April, are common by early May, peak in mid May (11% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Scarlet Tanagers leave Iowa?
Most Scarlet Tanagers have left Iowa by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late September.
When is the best time to see a Scarlet Tanager in Iowa?
The Scarlet Tanager is reported most often in mid May, on about 11% of Iowa checklists.
Where in Iowa are Scarlet Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Hancock County, Jones County, and Clayton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Scarlet Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).