WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in Wisconsin?

Adult male Wood Duck
Photo: Andrew Lai, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Wood Ducks reach Wisconsin in early March, are common by mid March, peak in mid April (20% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: mid April. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 20% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.8% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.0% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.4% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.9% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 14% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 19% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 21% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 20% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 19% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 18% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.3% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.4% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.8% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.0% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.5% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.7% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 15% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 10% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.0% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.6% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.4% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.8% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Buffalo CountyBest the second week of September · 29 checklists that week, 3,020 in all57%
  2. Trempealeau CountyBest the second week of September · 84 checklists that week, 6,201 in all46%
  3. Dodge CountyBest the second week of August · 811 checklists that week, 34,980 in all45%
  4. Dunn CountyBest the second week of April · 240 checklists that week, 8,247 in all38%
  5. Price CountyBest mid September · 39 checklists that week, 5,795 in all37%
  6. Burnett CountyBest mid September · 114 checklists that week, 11,034 in all35%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. La Crosse River MarshLa Crosse County, best late September · 33 checklists that week, 1,097 in all97%
  2. Graber PondDane County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 898 in all93%
  3. Dane County Waterfowl Production AreaDane County, best mid August · 29 checklists that week, 1,846 in all92%
  4. South Rice LakeMarathon County, best late July · 22 checklists that week, 534 in all89%
  5. Green Bay West Shores Wildlife AreaBrown County, best late July · 41 checklists that week, 1,294 in all88%
  6. Green Field ParkMilwaukee County, best early August · 23 checklists that week, 1,655 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (17% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 17% of 27016 checklists6 am: 17% of 83973 checklists7 am: 13% of 160717 checklists8 am: 11% of 160531 checklists9 am: 9.1% of 136968 checklists10 am: 8.1% of 119110 checklists11 am: 7.1% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 6.7% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 6.9% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 7.1% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 7.8% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 9.9% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 13% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 15% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January0.5%0.6%0.5%0.3%
February0.4%0.4%0.3%0.8%
March2.0%5.4%8.9%14%
April19%21%20%19%
May18%16%14%11%
June9.3%8.4%7.8%8.0%
July8.5%8.7%10%12%
August14%15%15%15%
September15%15%15%14%
October12%10%8.0%5.6%
November3.4%1.8%1.1%0.6%
December0.4%0.4%0.3%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives mid February, 2 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Iowa: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Wisconsin
  • Michigan: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Wisconsin
  • Minnesota: arrives early March, in the same week than Wisconsin

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in Wisconsin?
Wood Ducks reach Wisconsin in early March, are common by mid March, peak in mid April (20% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Wood Ducks leave Wisconsin?
Most Wood Ducks have left Wisconsin by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in Wisconsin?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in mid April, on about 20% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Buffalo County, Trempealeau County, and Dodge County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).