WhenToBird

Sphyrapicus varius · Picidae

When Do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers Arrive in Oklahoma?

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

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in Oklahoma: the first arrive in early October, they are common by the second week of October, peak in mid December (7.4% 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 15-21mid December
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: mid December. First arrivals early October; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 7.4% of Oklahoma checklists.

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

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 6.7% of 6087 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.0% of 4350 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.3% of 4381 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.8% of 6165 checklistsFeb 1-7: 5.4% of 4259 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.3% of 4589 checklistsFeb 15-21: 4.5% of 7001 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.2% of 4482 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.8% of 4724 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.7% of 4571 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.4% of 4393 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.1% of 7544 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 5967 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 6543 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 7366 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 10618 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 8835 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 8247 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 6081 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 7283 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 4256 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 3774 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 3541 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 4159 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 3209 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 2916 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 2861 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 4146 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 3043 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 2839 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 3014 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 4759 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 3861 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 3748 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 3569 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 4830 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.4% of 3809 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.9% of 4142 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.3% of 3705 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.4% of 4738 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.9% of 3823 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.3% of 3849 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.8% of 3722 checklistsNov 22-30: 6.5% of 4795 checklistsDec 1-7: 6.3% of 3324 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.0% of 3574 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.9% of 3884 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.4% of 5774 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Atoka CountyBest mid December · 15 checklists that week, 381 in all37%
  2. Adair CountyBest late December · 17 checklists that week, 616 in all36%
  3. Wagoner CountyBest mid January · 38 checklists that week, 2,059 in all29%
  4. McCurtain CountyBest mid January · 28 checklists that week, 2,908 in all28%
  5. Cherokee CountyBest early December · 40 checklists that week, 2,266 in all26%
  6. Mayes CountyBest the second week of December · 10 checklists that week, 459 in all26%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Red SloughMcCurtain County, best late October · 21 checklists that week, 492 in all27%
  2. Arcadia Conservation Education AreaOklahoma County, best late January · 24 checklists that week, 306 in all23%
  3. Recreation LakeTulsa County, best the second week of January · 54 checklists that week, 3,060 in all23%
  4. Lake Thunderbird State Park (east)Cleveland County, best early January · 27 checklists that week, 338 in all21%
  5. Keystone LakeTulsa County, best mid January · 22 checklists that week, 349 in all20%

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

Best time of day

In Oklahoma, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (3.4% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (91) to judge1 am: too few checklists (65) to judge2 am: too few checklists (73) to judge3 am: too few checklists (73) to judge4 am: too few checklists (100) to judge5 am: too few checklists (647) to judge6 am: 1.6% of 8353 checklists7 am: 2.7% of 24509 checklists8 am: 3.6% of 27848 checklists9 am: 3.2% of 25316 checklists10 am: 2.9% of 21161 checklists11 am: 2.6% of 18730 checklists12 pm: 2.5% of 16097 checklists1 pm: 3.0% of 14028 checklists2 pm: 2.9% of 13599 checklists3 pm: 2.7% of 14228 checklists4 pm: 1.9% of 14597 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 12125 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 9337 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 6944 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2403) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (459) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (226) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (141) 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
January6.7%6.0%6.3%5.8%
February5.4%5.3%4.5%4.2%
March3.8%3.7%3.4%2.1%
April0.8%0.2%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0%0%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0%0%0.2%
October1.4%2.9%5.3%5.4%
November4.9%5.3%5.8%6.5%
December6.3%7.0%7.9%7.4%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives early October, in the same week than Oklahoma
  • Arkansas: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than Oklahoma
  • Missouri: arrives mid September, 2 weeks earlier than Oklahoma
  • Nebraska: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than Oklahoma

Common questions

When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers arrive in Oklahoma?
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in Oklahoma: the first arrive in early October, they are common by the second week of October, peak in mid December (7.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers leave Oklahoma?
Most Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have left Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma?
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is reported most often in mid December, on about 7.4% of Oklahoma checklists.
Where in Oklahoma are Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seen most often?
By county, Atoka County, Adair County, and Wagoner County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (counties with at least 200 checklists).