WhenToBird

Birding spot · Buena Vista County, Iowa

Birding at Little Storm Lake Wildlife Management Area: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Little Storm Lake Wildlife Management Area are Ring-billed Gull (84%), American Tree Sparrow (67%), and American Crow (65%). It is busiest in spring, when 104 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (117 species). 200 species have been reported here across 968 complete checklists from 94 birders.

Species by week

0255075100125Jan 1-7: 17 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsJan 8-14: low data (9 checklists)Jan 15-21: 21 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJan 22-31: 16 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsFeb 1-7: 31 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsFeb 8-14: 22 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsFeb 15-21: 26 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsFeb 22-28: 33 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsMar 1-7: 39 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsMar 8-14: 45 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsMar 15-21: 54 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsMar 22-31: 59 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsApr 1-7: 64 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsApr 8-14: 62 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsApr 15-21: 89 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsApr 22-30: 92 species on 5%+ of 44 checklistsMay 1-7: 111 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsMay 8-14: 117 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsMay 15-21: 111 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsMay 22-31: 82 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsJun 1-7: 53 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsJun 8-14: 69 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJun 15-21: 55 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsJun 22-30: 71 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJul 1-7: low data (9 checklists)Jul 8-14: 61 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsJul 15-21: 61 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsJul 22-31: 61 species on 5%+ of 53 checklistsAug 1-7: 83 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsAug 8-14: 74 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsAug 15-21: low data (9 checklists)Aug 22-31: 72 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsSep 1-7: 69 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsSep 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsSep 15-21: 86 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsSep 22-30: 84 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsOct 1-7: 62 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsOct 8-14: 74 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsOct 15-21: 58 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsOct 22-31: 53 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsNov 1-7: 54 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsNov 8-14: 41 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsNov 15-21: low data (9 checklists)Nov 22-30: low data (6 checklists)Dec 1-7: low data (6 checklists)Dec 8-14: low data (2 checklists)Dec 15-21: low data (0 checklists)Dec 22-31: 19 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Ring-billed Gull84%
  2. 2American Tree Sparrow67%
  3. 3American Crow65%
  4. 4Ring-necked Pheasant56%
  5. 5Dark-eyed Junco49%
  6. 6Red-winged Blackbird49%
  7. 7Gadwall37%
  8. 8Song Sparrow37%
  9. 9American Coot35%
  10. 10Downy Woodpecker35%
  11. 11Red-tailed Hawk35%
  12. 12Canada Goose30%
  13. 13Mallard30%
  14. 14European Starling26%
  15. 15Black-capped Chickadee23%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 22 species

  1. American Tree Sparrow76%
  2. American Crow74%
  3. Ring-necked Pheasant65%
  4. Black-capped Chickadee56%
  5. Canada Goose44%

Spring 104 species

  1. Canada Goose83%
  2. Mallard76%
  3. American Robin70%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird70%
  5. American Crow62%

Summer 70 species

  1. Red-winged Blackbird79%
  2. Barn Swallow79%
  3. Wood Duck76%
  4. Great Blue Heron75%
  5. American Robin74%

Fall 68 species

  1. Ring-billed Gull73%
  2. American Crow67%
  3. Red-winged Blackbird65%
  4. Great Blue Heron47%
  5. American Goldfinch43%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Iowa.

  • Yellow-headed Blackbird24% of checklists here vs 1.1% statewide: 21.4×
  • Marsh Wren28% of checklists here vs 1.8% statewide: 15.4×
  • Sora11% of checklists here vs 1.3% statewide: 8.9×
  • Franklin's Gull18% of checklists here vs 2.2% statewide: 7.8×
  • Bobolink11% of checklists here vs 1.4% statewide: 7.7×
  • Green Heron13% of checklists here vs 1.9% statewide: 6.8×
  • Snow Goose13% of checklists here vs 2.0% statewide: 6.6×
  • Bank Swallow11% of checklists here vs 1.7% statewide: 6.5×

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.