WhenToBird

Sphyrapicus varius · Picidae

When Do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers Arrive in Mississippi?

Adult male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Photo: Barry Cottam, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in Mississippi: the first arrive in early October, they are common by the second week of October, peak in late December (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 1-7early October
Common byOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakDec 22-31late December
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: late December. First arrivals early October; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 10% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Seprare
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 9.4% of 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.2% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.9% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 8.2% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.3% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.2% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 6.2% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.3% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.7% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.5% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.7% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.7% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.4% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.4% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.7% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.5% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.2% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 9.7% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.6% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.1% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.3% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.6% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.1% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 10% of 4466 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Union CountyBest late December · 15 checklists that week, 508 in all40%
  2. Scott CountyBest late December · 20 checklists that week, 308 in all37%
  3. George CountyBest mid January · 10 checklists that week, 490 in all31%
  4. Marshall CountyBest late December · 11 checklists that week, 1,345 in all31%
  5. Adams CountyBest the second week of December · 23 checklists that week, 1,749 in all30%
  6. Wilkinson CountyBest late January · 12 checklists that week, 213 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bouie RiverForrest County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 746 in all47%
  2. Lefleur's Bluff State ParkHinds County, best early March · 36 checklists that week, 1,235 in all41%
  3. Plymouth BluffLowndes County, best late March · 24 checklists that week, 333 in all40%
  4. Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife RefugeJackson County, best mid November · 24 checklists that week, 1,014 in all39%
  5. Hurricane LakeMadison County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 1,600 in all28%
  6. Beardslee LakeJackson County, best late January · 29 checklists that week, 529 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (5.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (54) to judge1 am: too few checklists (48) to judge2 am: too few checklists (28) to judge3 am: too few checklists (60) to judge4 am: too few checklists (114) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1139) to judge6 am: 4.2% of 9054 checklists7 am: 5.3% of 18481 checklists8 am: 5.5% of 17525 checklists9 am: 4.6% of 15482 checklists10 am: 4.0% of 14380 checklists11 am: 4.1% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 3.8% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 4.0% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 4.3% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 4.0% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 2.6% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 6018 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2387) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (114) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (63) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (48) 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
January9.4%9.2%7.9%8.2%
February7.3%7.2%6.2%6.3%
March6.7%5.5%4.7%3.7%
April1.4%0.7%0.3%0.2%
May0.1%0%0%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0%0%0.6%
October2.4%4.7%8.5%8.2%
November9.7%7.6%8.1%7.3%
December8.6%8.1%11%10%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: arrives early October, in the same week than Mississippi
  • Louisiana: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than Mississippi
  • Arkansas: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than Mississippi
  • Georgia: arrives early October, in the same week than Mississippi

Common questions

When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers arrive in Mississippi?
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in Mississippi: the first arrive in early October, they are common by the second week of October, peak in late December (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers leave Mississippi?
Most Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have left Mississippi by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early April.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Mississippi?
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is reported most often in late December, on about 10% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seen most often?
By county, Union County, Scott County, and George County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (counties with at least 200 checklists).