WhenToBird

Tachycineta bicolor · Hirundinidae

When Do Tree Swallows Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Tree Swallow
Photo: Carter Dorscht, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Tree Swallows reach Nebraska in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late April (19% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byJul 22-31late July

Best: late April. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by late July. Peak: on about 19% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.9% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.0% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 19% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 21% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 17% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.4% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.1% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.9% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.5% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.9% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.2% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.5% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.7% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.4% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.7% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.6% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.7% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.3% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Pawnee CountyBest the second week of April · 13 checklists that week, 586 in all64%
  2. Cedar CountyBest late April · 50 checklists that week, 1,691 in all45%
  3. Thurston CountyBest late April · 14 checklists that week, 237 in all43%
  4. Dixon CountyBest late April · 74 checklists that week, 1,619 in all40%
  5. Stanton CountyBest mid April · 34 checklists that week, 835 in all39%
  6. Dakota CountyBest the second week of July · 14 checklists that week, 2,182 in all38%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Prairie Queen Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 467 in all93%
  2. Flanagan Lake & Recreation AreaDouglas County, best the second week of June · 23 checklists that week, 1,089 in all78%
  3. Desoto National Wildlife RefugeWashington County, best early May · 22 checklists that week, 426 in all67%
  4. Glenn Cunningham LakeDouglas County, best late April · 43 checklists that week, 754 in all65%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Tree Swallow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (8.9% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 11% of 6945 checklists7 am: 7.5% of 19066 checklists8 am: 6.8% of 24661 checklists9 am: 6.7% of 23438 checklists10 am: 6.4% of 20424 checklists11 am: 5.8% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 5.7% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 5.7% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 5.7% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 5.1% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 5.4% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 7.2% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 9.2% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 8.4% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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%0.1%0.6%2.9%
April9.0%14%19%21%
May17%13%14%13%
June11%12%12%13%
July11%8.4%7.1%5.9%
August5.5%5.9%4.2%3.5%
September3.7%2.4%1.7%1.6%
October1.7%1.3%0.4%0.1%
November0.1%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives mid March, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives early March, 2 weeks earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Tree Swallows arrive in Nebraska?
Tree Swallows reach Nebraska in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late April (19% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.
When do Tree Swallows leave Nebraska?
Most Tree Swallows have left Nebraska by late July, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early October.
When is the best time to see a Tree Swallow in Nebraska?
The Tree Swallow is reported most often in late April, on about 19% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Tree Swallows seen most often?
By county, Pawnee County, Cedar County, and Thurston County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Tree Swallow (counties with at least 200 checklists).