WhenToBird

Birding spot · Polk County, Iowa

Birding at Saylorville Recreation Area (southeast): What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Saylorville Recreation Area (southeast) are American Robin (83%), Northern Cardinal (78%), and Blue Jay (73%). It is busiest in spring, when 102 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (101 species). 177 species have been reported here across 867 complete checklists from 101 birders.

Species by week

0255075100125Jan 1-7: low data (5 checklists)Jan 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Jan 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Jan 22-31: 31 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsFeb 1-7: low data (6 checklists)Feb 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Feb 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Feb 22-28: low data (6 checklists)Mar 1-7: low data (6 checklists)Mar 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Mar 15-21: 49 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsMar 22-31: 52 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsApr 1-7: 68 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsApr 8-14: 69 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsApr 15-21: 73 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsApr 22-30: 79 species on 5%+ of 66 checklistsMay 1-7: 98 species on 5%+ of 63 checklistsMay 8-14: 101 species on 5%+ of 68 checklistsMay 15-21: 87 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsMay 22-31: 83 species on 5%+ of 40 checklistsJun 1-7: 79 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJun 8-14: 72 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJun 15-21: 67 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsJun 22-30: 62 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsJul 1-7: 71 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJul 8-14: 72 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsJul 15-21: 65 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsJul 22-31: 76 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsAug 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsAug 8-14: 62 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsAug 15-21: 71 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsAug 22-31: 90 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsSep 1-7: 96 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsSep 8-14: 87 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsSep 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsSep 22-30: 67 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsOct 1-7: 80 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsOct 8-14: 76 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsOct 15-21: 59 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsOct 22-31: low data (8 checklists)Nov 1-7: low data (2 checklists)Nov 8-14: low data (3 checklists)Nov 15-21: low data (5 checklists)Nov 22-30: low data (8 checklists)Dec 1-7: low data (2 checklists)Dec 8-14: low data (2 checklists)Dec 15-21: low data (2 checklists)Dec 22-31: low data (7 checklists)JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
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. 1American Robin83%
  2. 2Northern Cardinal78%
  3. 3Blue Jay73%
  4. 4Red-bellied Woodpecker71%
  5. 5Canada Goose67%
  6. 6Black-capped Chickadee66%
  7. 7Red-winged Blackbird65%
  8. 8Great Blue Heron65%
  9. 9Downy Woodpecker63%
  10. 10Eastern Bluebird62%
  11. 11Northern Flicker62%
  12. 12White-breasted Nuthatch61%
  13. 13European Starling60%
  14. 14Turkey Vulture60%
  15. 15Northern House Wren56%

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 40 species

  1. Canada Goose82%
  2. Bald Eagle77%
  3. Mallard70%
  4. Black-capped Chickadee63%
  5. White-breasted Nuthatch54%

Spring 102 species

  1. American Robin96%
  2. Northern Cardinal87%
  3. Red-winged Blackbird86%
  4. Canada Goose85%
  5. Red-bellied Woodpecker77%

Summer 73 species

  1. American Robin92%
  2. Gray Catbird87%
  3. Northern Cardinal84%
  4. American Goldfinch81%
  5. Northern House Wren81%

Fall 91 species

  1. Blue Jay84%
  2. Northern Flicker78%
  3. Ring-billed Gull70%
  4. Turkey Vulture70%
  5. Red-bellied Woodpecker68%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Iowa.

Nearby spots

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.