WhenToBird

Sturnella neglecta · Icteridae

When Do Western Meadowlarks Arrive in South Dakota?

Adult Western Meadowlark
Photo: Aiva Noringseth, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Western Meadowlarks reach South Dakota in early March, are common by mid March, peak in early June (33% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: early June. First arrivals early March; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 33% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 2.5% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.2% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.3% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.6% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.7% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 20% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 26% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 26% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 25% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 30% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 27% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 28% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 29% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 33% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 33% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 31% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 31% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 31% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 28% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 26% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 22% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 19% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 14% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.1% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.1% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.6% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.0% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.1% 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. Haakon CountyBest the second week of June · 26 checklists that week, 214 in all91%
  2. Jones CountyBest late April · 13 checklists that week, 425 in all90%
  3. Jackson CountyBest the second week of April · 17 checklists that week, 3,039 in all83%
  4. Perkins CountyBest the second week of July · 14 checklists that week, 413 in all81%
  5. Harding CountyBest late June · 88 checklists that week, 1,088 in all80%
  6. Butte CountyBest the second week of June · 65 checklists that week, 987 in all80%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Badlands National Park (northwest)Pennington County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 252 in all92%
  2. Prairie Dog CanyonCuster County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 184 in all83%
  3. Badlands National Park (west)Jackson County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 277 in all79%
  4. Badlands National Park (Millard Ridge)Jackson County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 261 in all78%
  5. Cheyenne River Canyons FeeFall River County, best the second week of May · 34 checklists that week, 106 in all76%
  6. Oaha Recreation AreaStanley County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 247 in all71%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Western Meadowlark is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (24% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 27% of 3387 checklists7 am: 21% of 7718 checklists8 am: 21% of 10342 checklists9 am: 19% of 10758 checklists10 am: 19% of 9123 checklists11 am: 17% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 17% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 16% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 17% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 16% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 16% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 19% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 22% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 26% 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
January2.5%1.2%1.3%0.5%
February0.6%0.8%1.0%1.0%
March3.6%7.7%13%20%
April26%26%25%30%
May27%28%29%33%
June33%31%31%31%
July28%26%22%19%
August19%16%14%14%
September12%15%14%14%
October15%12%11%7.1%
November3.1%1.6%1.0%0.5%
December0.8%0.8%0.6%1.1%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives late March, 3 weeks later than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than South Dakota
  • Minnesota: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than South Dakota
  • Iowa: arrives early March, in the same week than South Dakota

Common questions

When do Western Meadowlarks arrive in South Dakota?
Western Meadowlarks reach South Dakota in early March, are common by mid March, peak in early June (33% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Western Meadowlarks leave South Dakota?
Most Western Meadowlarks have left South Dakota by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Western Meadowlark in South Dakota?
The Western Meadowlark is reported most often in early June, on about 33% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Western Meadowlarks seen most often?
By county, Haakon County, Jones County, and Jackson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Meadowlark (counties with at least 200 checklists).